


A Way Out

by Yodawgiherd



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, One Shot Collection, Post-Canon, Prompt Fill, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2019-06-19 01:12:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 65,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15498984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yodawgiherd/pseuds/Yodawgiherd
Summary: One-shot collection of SnK pairings, (mostly Eremika/AruAni), following prompts and requests i received.Ratings and tags change from chapter to chapter.





	1. Pain

**Author's Note:**

> Re-upload.  
> Rating: T  
> Setting: Post-Canon
> 
> Angsty oneshot, dealing with sickness and death of a loved one.

They say that time heals all wounds. 

It’s a fucking lie. 

The cold wind rippled Eren’s hair. It was long enough to fall on his shoulders again, he should cut it, but he simply didn’t care. Truth be told, he couldn’t force himself to care about anything lately. It’s been about a year, and it was not getting better. His chest still felt like it was ripped open, heart torn out, the hollowness inside him only growing stronger with the passing days. 

They said it was some disease, from beyond the ocean, one no one had seen before. It was lethal, and it worked fast. In just few months, it reduced the only woman he ever loved, his wife and mother of his children, from a radiant being to a wreck. She spent the last month in bed, coughing her lungs out, and all he could do was sit by and watch. Even back then, he knew that it’s destroying him, yet there was nothing that would force him to leave her side. She was so much stronger than him. She whispered that its okay, that she’s happy. They got to live a happy life together, build a house, have children. It was everything she ever dreamt of. 

He suffered his first breakdown at Mikasa’s funeral, clutching the red scarf she always wore, crying like a child. They buried her next to Armin, his old friend passing away years ago due to the curse of Ymir. 

“She can’t be dead. “, he was telling everyone that listened to him, “We have beaten so much together, she can’t be dead. “

After the event, he simply closed himself to everyone, the world just lost sense for him. To everyone’s credit, they did their best to help him, but you can’t save someone who does not want to be saved. Sasha and Connie came numerous times, bringing their kids for a visit, but he ignored them. Staying in his room, he just stared at the ceiling, lost in the memories of happier times. To hide from the pain of real world, he wandered the paths in his head, living through the times he spent with her, over and over again, while his body was wasting away. 

Hannes was the first one to leave, saying that he wants to go see the world, become a bounty hunter maybe. Annie left soon after, joining the Marley military. As terrible as it sounds, he was glad that she was gone. Physically, she was a perfect copy of Mikasa. Looking at her, he didn’t see his daughter, but the young version of his dead wife, and it was tearing him apart. Last to lose her patience was Carla. She took care of him for a year before she snapped, barging into his room.

“You can’t just lay here for the rest of your life dad! Mom is gone, you need to accept it. But you have children, friends, you can live for them. “

He ignored her. And she gave up.

“I’m done with this dad. I’m leaving, and I’m taking Grisha and Erwin with me, you are in no state to take care of them. If you want to see us, you know where I live. “

She turned in the door, looking back.

“I don’t think mom would be proud of what became of you. “

And she left. 

The house was eerily empty now that he was here on his own. There was always laughter, sounds of steps running around the house, sings of life everywhere, but now there was nothing. He felt like a ghost, passing by the empty rooms. He knew that he’s acting terrible. He was a father, commanding officer, an important person. But he just felt empty, nothing in the world bore any significance to him. Everything was grey, dull, lacking life. He lost his will to live, as surely as he lost the light of his life. He tried killing himself, but as expected, it didn’t work. He was still a shifter, and any wound he inflicted upon himself healed itself in seconds. 

Standing over her grave, he could read the letters on the headstone. 

Mikasa Yeager-Ackerman. Soldier, hero, wife, mother. 

Yet she was so much more. His vision blurred as he fell on his knees, doubling over in pain which flared from his heart. This was so much worse than any kind of wound he got in his life, this throbbing agony tearing him apart inside and out. 

“Just let me disappear. “, he whispered to the earth, “Please, just let me die. I want to see her again. “

Eren bolted upright, chest heaving, sweat running over his body. He whipped his head to side, to see that the other half of the bed was empty, the insane hollowness inside him spreading. She’s really gone, it wasn’t a dream, she’s dead, and he’s alone. The scream that ripped from his throat was something raw, feral, he couldn’t control it. The sound of breaking glass and running feet brought him back to reality, as a figure appeared in the door and rushed to his side. Blinking through his tears to clear his vision, he saw Mikasa’s worried face as she embraced him, whispering soothing words. He hugged her back, pressing his face against her stomach as he inhaled the familiar scent, clearing the remnants of the dream from his mind. She was ok, alive, she wasn’t sick, it never happened. Hannes, Carla and Annie did move out, pursuing their careers, but they parted on good terms and remained in contact. The house was now occupied by him, Mikasa and their two youngest sons, Grisha and Erwin. Everybody is okay, there is nothing to fear. He felt her hands slowly combing his hair, giving him the feeling of inner peace. 

“Bad dreams? “, she asked, voice concerned. 

He nodded against her, not willing to let her go for a second.

“I had a nightmare, and then I woke up, and you were gone, so I panicked. “

“I just went to make some tea, silly. “, she sighed, “I dropped the mug when I heard the scream, got to clean it up. “

“Sorry. “, he murmured, squeezing her a bit tighter in his arms. 

She didn’t say anything, but he knew she understood. The war was long gone, but their minds bore a permanent mark. The fear of losing each other sometimes manifested into nightmares, terrors that only the presence of the other one could drive away. As Eren lay there, holding her close and listening to her heartbeat, he wondered if they will ever manage to be rid of those terrible dreams. Yet as long as they could be woken from, he could take them, because the reality was just so much better. In her arms, he felt invincible, the feeling of warmth spreading and chasing away the hollowness from before

He was home.


	2. Crack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.  
> Rating: T  
> Setting: Canon  
> Prompt: Annie gets out of the crystal and Armin convinces her to help them.

Mikasa felt anxious, watching the scene in front of her. It was the same one that kept being repeated during the whole week. Eren was shifted, kneeling and holding his hand towards Historia, who was reaching out and clutching one of his giant fingers. The titan’s brow was furrowed, as he concentrated immensely, tuning his coordinate. They were not alone in the room. In front of them was the crystal, wrapped in chains, with Annie floating in the middle. She was the goal of this whole operation, getting her out was the mission. They spent the last week focused solely on this, long days filled with Eren in his titan form touching Historia and trying a different frequency of the coordinate to force her to break the glass-like substance. 

The rest of the room was occupied by soldiers, waiting to grab the young woman if Eren manages to get her out. Mikasa suppressed a yawn. It felt weird, just standing around and watching. She couldn’t do anything, no one but her boyfriend could. Just then, Eren let out a roar, and whole room tensed, waiting for the results. Nothing happened. Murmurs of disappointment ran through the room, soldiers relaxing from their postures. Mikasa felt bad for Eren. She knew that he was getting increasingly angry with himself, their secret nightly meetings told her as much. She did her best to ease the pressure from him, make him believe it was not his fault, but with the failures piling up it was getting harder for her to get through to him. Just when she was about to go over to his slumped silhouette and perhaps offer some words of encouragement, his head shot up and he roared again, the whole room shaking with the force of it.

The crystal shattered into thousand pieces, and Annie fell on the ground, slowly climbing to her feet. The silence that fell over the room was cut by Historia’s voice.

“Get her! “, she shouted, pointing at the blonde shifter.

The four soldiers closest to her managed to shrug off their dizziness and jumped her, trying to subdue her. But Annie was having none of it. With a quick punch to the throat she dispatched the first one, turning over to grab the second and throw him against the last two, sending them all sprawling on the ground. Her eyes quickly scanning the room, she realized her situation and saw the only possible way out. Raising her hand to her mouth, she was prepared to bite it and shift in an attempt to escape. Just before her plan could come to fruition, her body was violently tackled by Mikasa, who crossed the distance between them in a record time, and they went down in a flurry of limbs. Seeing his girlfriend locked in a deadly combat with one of the most dangerous women he knew, Eren reached out, trying to help, only to realize that his giant form was completely useless here. He couldn’t touch them, anything he could do would bear a great risk of harming Mikasa, and he would never risk that. Letting his hand hover in the air, he let out a frustrated groan. He couldn’t even exit his titan body, in a fear that Annie manages to transform, because then he would be the only one standing between her and freedom. Luckily for the Eldians she was weakened by the long stay in the crystal, dizzy from being woken up and sore from not using her muscles for so long. The raven-haired warrior came out on top, wrapping one arm around Annie’s throat and tightening the grip, choking her out. 

“Let’s see you transform with no air. “, she hissed into her ear, malice dripping from her words. 

Annie thrashed on the ground, but she couldn’t throw her enemy off herself. Running out of oxygen, her movements slowed, eyes still burning with hate. Mikasa eased off her hold, letting the shifter gulp a tiny bit of air, not enough to fully regain her strength but enough to prevent her from fainting. 

“Stop! This is madness! “

The door slammed open as Armin ran in, shouting. 

“Let go of her, we can talk about this! “

He was stopped by Eren putting a hand into his path, shaking his titan head.

“What is the meaning of this? “, the queen’s voice cut in, confused.

“Let me to talk to her, please. I can fix this, we don’t have to fight! “, Armin pleaded, looking at Annie with pity in his eyes.

Historia shook her head.

“You are delusional general. “, she looked back at Mikasa, “Knock her out! “

Following the order, the warrior tightened her hold again, cutting the oxygen off completely. Annie made a last desperate attempt to free herself, but to no avail. Her body went limp, face falling on the floor. Mikasa let go of her unconscious opponent, standing up, but she kept her eyes on her, prepared for everything. 

“No! “, Armin let out a pained shout, squeezing past Eren’s hand and running over to her side, dropping to his knees. 

“Control yourself! “, Historia had a disgusted look on her face, turning to her soldiers, she said “Take her underground and bind her, I don’t want any risk of her transforming. “

They saluted and moved to follow her orders. Armin looked like he might fight them, but Mikasa put a hand to his shoulder, shaking her head. He slumped completely, letting them take Annie and carry her away, to be imprisoned. Historia came close, followed by Eren who finally got out of his titan form. The queen had a very disappointed look on her face, as her eyes focused on her general.

“I have no idea what you were trying to accomplish, Armin, but this is unacceptable. You, of all people, should know just how dangerous she is. “

“I apologize. “, he murmured, not sounding sorry at all, “I don’t know what came over me. “

The queen shook her head and turned around, preparing to leave, just to be stopped by his voice.

“Can I just ask to be allowed to talk to her? I still believe that she carries info vital to our cause. “

Historia gave a short nod, walking out of the door followed by her guards. Armin scrambled to his feet following her out and taking the road that led to the prison prepared for Annie beforehand. Finally alone, Eren and Mikasa clashed in a kiss, arms circling each other and pulling themselves close. 

“I was so worried. “, he murmured between kisses, the fear he felt when the two fought on the floor finally melting away. 

“I’m okay. “, she said, pulling back to smile at him, “Everything is fine. “

He hugged her close, not wanting to let go for the rest of his life.

Armin nodded to the soldiers standing in front of the metal door, gesturing for them to open. They exchanged a look, but deciding not to question a general, one of them produced a key and unlocked, pulling the gate open. He strode in and felt the hunk of metal fall in place behind him, closing him in with Annie. She was secured exactly like Eren was, back when he was kidnapped. Forced to kneel, with hands chained to the walls, fingers wrapped in bandages, so she can’t hurt herself in anyway. A gag was forced into her mouth to prevent her biting her tongue. Her eyes were the only part of her body that was free, watching him with a piercing gaze, not betraying a single emotion. He sighed, running a hand through his long hair, trying to figure out how to start the conversation.

“If I take that thing in your mouth out, do you promise that you won’t try anything? “

They just stared into each other’s eyes for a time, before she nodded, slowly. Armin reached out to pull out the gag, undoing the straps that held the object in place. With her mouth free, Annie worked her jaw a bit, trying to get the ache out. 

“How did you get me out? “, she asked, her voice clear of any emotion.

“Eren did it, with coordinate. “, Armin smiled, hearing her voice again brought back a lot of good memories. And some bad ones too. “Took him a long time to get the tone right. “

She nodded.

“Why did you get me out? What do you want with me? “

“We-We don’t know yet. There are some who just want to execute you, others want to keep you chained until we can transfer your titan to someone else. And a few others are saying that the information you can provide is more valuable than stealing your titan and giving it to some inexperienced soldier. “

She nodded again.

“Makes sense. “

The silence stretched between them, with Armin not being sure how to proceed. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to tell her that she should cooperate, try to save her life. But looking into her eyes, he knew that the decision in the end will be hers and hers alone. Fuck it then. He won’t try influencing her. He will just say what he feels. 

“Annie please, you have to work with us. There are so many people that wants to kill you, I need to give them something. Historia herself wants to execute you on first opportunity, for the murders you committed. “

Annie arched an eyebrow upon hearing that. 

“Since when is the blond midgets opinion so important? “

“Oh, you don’t know, do you. She is the queen now, we kind of overthrew the government while you slept. “

She started laughing, shaking in her bonds as her whole body rocked. 

“Oh my god, I take a quick nap, and you just start turning everything on it’s head. This is incredible. “

Armin smiled as well, but there was no glee in his face. 

“Well know you at least know how dire your situation is. The queen herself is calling for your head, and Levi is right behind her. He didn’t exactly forgive you for murdering his squad. “

The laughter died down as she remembered, her expression once again unreadable.

“What about you? “, she said, “What do you want? “

Armin took a shuddering breath.

“I want for you to live Annie. Please, you must start working with us, I beg you. “

If he was a braver man, he would tell her that he loves her. He would tell her that seeing her out of the crystal is making him happier than anything in recent memory. He would tell her that if she dies, he won’t be able to go on. But he was not the braver man. So, he remained silent.

Annie looked him straight into the eye, studying his expression, before nodding once again.

“I will. “

Leaving her cell, he realized that he didn’t tell her that he was now also a shifter. Well, perhaps later they will have time to talk more. Now he had to deliver the joyous news of her agreeing to give information about the nation they will go to war with. 

And pray that it will be enough.


	3. Fire and blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.  
> Rating: T  
> Setting: Canon (chapter 104)  
> Prompt: Mikasa as a dragon shifter

The blip’s rotors hummed softly as they made their way over the roofs of Liberio. Hange looked over the pilot’s shoulder, nervously checking the line of lights left behind by the strike team. Everything seemed to be in order so far, but already she could hear the faint sounds of battle coming over the winds. Roars and gunfire mixed together, and she cursed, afraid that they might come too late after all. 

“Can’t this thing go any faster? “, she asked, suppressing her urge to start pacing around.

“I’m squeezing as much speed as I can commander. “, the man replied, sweat running down his brow. 

Hange nodded, looking out of the window once again to check their course. The line of lights was uninterrupted, slowly leading them to the heart of the conflict. Explosions could be heard in the distance. 

“How can you be so calm? “, she asked Armin, who was standing next to them, his face unreadable. 

He offered her a small smile.

“There is nothing to gain by worrying, we must keep our heads above water. “, he looked out of the window, suddenly looking thoughtful, “We might be the only ones who think rationally once we reach the fight. There are bound to be strong emotions in the air. “

“Right, of course… “, she muttered, turning back to the front. 

While his words rang true, they did nothing to ease the knot of fear that gripped her chest. This whole mission was of the highest importance. They had to be successful, otherwise their island will be destroyed. The hope of their nation was resting on their shoulders, and she was supposed not to feel anxious about it. Yeah right. Nearing the battlefield, she could pick out the individual targets. Eren was standing, holding the Jaw in his hands, clearly preparing to eat him. The Beast and Warhammer were nowhere to be seen, same for the Cart titan. Were they dead? Did Eren manage to eat them? Just as he was about to sink his teeth into Galliard’s nape, a pile of rubble close to him shifted and fell apart, the Armored titan rising out of it. Hange squinted her eyes a bit, but there was no mistake. He looked different, and not in the good way. The Attack titan wasted no time, quickly delivering a terrifying punch that sent him back to the ground. Yet somehow Reiner managed to reach out and steal the Jaw from Eren, saving his comrade. There was no time to waste, the reinforcements could arrive any time now. 

“All right, bring her around so they can board. “, she said, clasping the pilot on the shoulder. “And then let’s get out of here! “

Seeing the airship draw near, Mikasa flew over to Eren’s titan, landing on the shoulder. He was already rising out of the nape, prepared for the extraction. She grabbed him, raising her arm and shooting the cable, flew towards the blip. The door opened to reveal grinning Hange, who extended her arm and helped them both climb aboard. 

“It’s been a long time commander. “, Eren said, smiling. “It’s good to see you again. “

“Likewise. What about the mission? Did you succeed? “

“I have eaten the Warhammer titan, but the rest managed to escape. Willy Tybur is dead as well, so I would say that our purpose here is fulfilled. “

Hange nodded to herself, making a mental note to question him further once they get to safety. Meanwhile the pilot turned the ship, making a beeline towards the coast in an attempt to escape, being protected from below by the remaining survey corps members. The sounds of battle were all around them, signaling that the Marley army wasn’t giving up. 

“I should go help them “, said Mikasa, breaking the silence and walking towards the door. 

Eren stood and quickly grabbed her arm, suddenly looking very scared.

“Please don’t go, “, he said, pleading. 

He knew that he shouldn’t be afraid. She was the best of their soldiers, her skill with the new gear was a grade above anyone else. But he just couldn’t bear to see her go into danger again, right when they managed to reunite after months of separation. She looked at him, a puzzled look on her face. The silence stretched, and Eren felt his heart flutter in his throat, afraid that she might just ignore him and go anyway.

“All right, “she nodded. “Ill stay for now. “

“Thank you. “, he said, a wave of relief washing over him.

Their quiet moment was interrupted by Jean, who barged in, a look of desperation in his eyes. He seemed on the verge of collapsing, his posture exhausted, but he still held himself upright. 

“Hange, we have a problem. “, he said, wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve. 

“What is it? “, she came over to him, concerned.

“There is a blockade in our way. Anti-air guns ready to take us right out of the sky. There is no way you can just fly over it, and I don’t have the manpower to take them out. We are stuck. “

“Can’t we go around? “, she asked, looking over to the pilot, who began to sweat profusely.

“We have to hurry, their reach is long enough to… “, Jean’s next words were cut short by an explosion which shook the air right next to the blip. 

“Fuck! “, Hange screamed, running back to the front window and looking out. “We are already in their range! “

Another explosion, even closer, send a shockwave through the room, rocking the floor. The pilot squealed in terror, trying his best to turn the airship around, but it was slow. Way too slow. Eren looked over to Mikasa, determination in his eyes, but they both knew that he can’t do anything. He was way too exhausted to transform again. 

“We have to get out of the ship. “, Armin spoke, alerting everyone to his presence. “This ship is going down. “

“No, stay. “, said Mikasa, “I can handle this. “

“Don’t be ridiculous Ackerman, there are hundreds of men! You will get yourself killed. “, Jean pointed towards the ocean, their way out. “We will just get out of the ship and make our way on foot, we can get lost between the houses and… “

“No. “, she knew that the other plan was bound to fail, there was no way they can sneak between the army that was looking for them, she had to act. 

Mikasa walked over to the door, looking over her shoulder. The room was full of surprised people, but her gaze focused on only the one. 

“I’m sorry I kept this as a secret for so long. “, she whispered. “But it was for your own good. “

“Kept what as a secret? “, Eren asked, having no idea what she was talking about. 

“This. “

And she jumped out of the ship. The familiar burning spread, starting around her heart and going all the way to the tips of her fingers, the fire that burned away all the doubt and confusion, leaving only purpose and determination behind. Spreading her hands, she let the inferno consume her, scorching away any trace of human she was. The dragon roared, quickly gaining altitude on her massive wings. She knew what to do. Her friends were trapped on that blip, about to be gunned down, and she wouldn’t let that happen. Making a quick circle around it, she headed straight for the cannons, bringing fire and death in her wake. 

The silence that followed Mikasa’s exit and transformation into a jet-black dragon was stunning. Hange was the first to break it, walking over to Eren and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. 

“Did you know that she could do that? And don’t lie to me god damn it! “

“I-I had no idea. I’m as surprised as you are! “

She let go of him, pressing a hand to her forehead and tried to breathe evenly. So on top of everything that just happened, Mikasa was some kind of dragon shifter. This day just couldn’t get any better. She adjusted her glasses, looking around the room.

“What are you waiting for? She’s clearing a way for us, let’s go! “

The pilot finally jumped to action, turning the wheel back towards the ocean, following the trail of fire left behind by the raging monster. The other surviving survey corps members flew in one by one, all of them talking about the dragon, a disbelief shining in their eyes. Last to board was Levi, exchanging a brief nod with Hange and sitting down, not making any explanation where he was or what he was doing. Soon they passed the destroyed remnants of the anti-air guns, burned by a terrible force. Once they were over the ocean, a last figure flew in, shutting the door behind her and turning to see the sea of faces, every single one looking at her. 

“I... “

Mikasa’s attempt to explain what the hell just happened was cut short by Hange, who interrupted her immediately.

“Don’t say a thing. Right now, our one and only goal is to get back to Paradis. Once we are there, you can tell us everything you want to, but for now, just sit down and be quiet. That’s an order. “

Closing her mouth, she nodded and went over to sit next to Eren. Seeing her, he realized that he doesn’t care what she is. She was his Mikasa, the girl he knew all his life. The only thing that mattered was that she was safe, and that they were together. Reaching out, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and when she looked at him, he smiled. 

“Everything will be fine. “

She smiled back, feeling warmth spread in her chest. Different kind of fire then the one that made her change, this one didn’t consume, but provided a safe haven, now that she needed it the most. The blip slowly flew over the ocean, bringing back the rescue party. And many more questions to be answered.


	4. By the skin of his teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.  
> Rating: M  
> Setting: Canon ( post chapter 50)  
> Prompt: Eren and Mikasa having trouble finding privacy in the cabin with the rest of squad Levi.

Eren never truly realized the value of privacy until now. The small cabin housing all of the new squad Levi was not providing enough space for his newfound attraction. Ever since he and Mikasa got together, the lack of time to spend with her became his worst enemy. That and other soldiers disrupting the precious moments they stole together. Like why did Levi need to check the supply closet at one in the morning anyway? They managed to scramble together good enough excuse that time, saying that Eren spilled coffee on his bed and needs to clear it, so Levi let them go. Annoying, all of them. 

The few times they actually got to enjoy each other’s company uninterrupted were quickly becoming his favorite activity. Never before did he imagine that a simple touch of someone could feel this good. The kissing was another thing altogether. He hardly ever thought about it, back before Mikasa, but he vaguely remembered that he considered it disgusting. Well, that quickly changed when he tried it with her. They were both complete beginners at that, so their first attempts were very messy and kind of funny, but the more they practiced, the better it felt. But now every time he wanted to get another go with her, someone just had to interrupt, asking for help, or ordering them to do something, or stealing the room they managed to find empty from them.

Splitting another log, Eren took a step back and stretched, dropping the axe. Firewood, now that was something that required endless work. You made it, and before you noticed, it was burned again. But the cabin got damn cold, so it was required. There were other, more enjoyable ways to get warm however. Just last night they managed to find a room, exploring each other’s bodies to their heart content, just remembering it made him blush. Mikasa’s cold façade crumbled beneath his hands so easily, it made him wonder just how much he didn’t know about her. And he was more than willing to learn.

Taking another step away from the pile of wood, he decided that he should go and try to find her before someone finds a job for him again. Quickly checking outside the house, he couldn’t see her anywhere, so he walked inside. On the way he made a quick stop by the well, washing the sweat away in an attempt to look presentable. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, but he definitely wouldn’t mind another kissing training. Quickly surveying the building, he found Connie in the kitchen, with Sasha stealing food from him, Jean sleeping hidden in a closet but no Mikasa. Or Levi. Just when he was about to give up, the door opened and both she and the corporal came in, sweaty all over. Shit.

“Go get cleaned up Ackerman, “he was saying, “You stink. “

“You aren’t doing so hot yourself sir. “, she replied, stone-faced as usual. 

Levi grumbled, walking to the staircase that lead to his room, stopping at the bottom of it and turning his head.

“And good job today at the training, you are getting better. “, he grimaced, almost as if the words were physically hurting him to get out. “You might have a chance of becoming useful in the end. “

Mikasa chose not to comment, so Levi walked up the stairs and disappeared from sight, leaving her alone. She sighed, the exhaustion from the extreme physical activity of flying on the dimensional gear spreading in her muscles. Just as she was about to find some water to clear herself as per the Corporal’s orders, two arms wrapped around her torso from behind, taking her by surprise. She acted without thinking, turning and grabbing the unknown assailant, smashing him face first into the floor. She was about to twist his arm when she noticed the familiar mop of brown hair and the face she just recently learned had a very soft and pleasing lips. 

“Eren? “, she asked, standing up and covering her mouth in shock. 

He slowly picked himself up from the floor, groaning. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. “, she exclaimed, “I had no idea it was you! “

He offered her a crooked smile.

“If I knew you’d try to destroy my face, I would have said something. “, he checked his nose, making sure it’s not broken, “I just thought I’ll surprise you. “

“Well you certainly did. “, she folded her arms on her chest, suddenly very aware of her disheveled state.

“What did you want anyway? “

He looked on the floor, a bit embarrassed. 

“Well I just thought you might want to spend some time together, if you have nothing better to do. “

“O-Oh. Well, I-I don’t have any chores or training so... We can hang out if you want to. After I clean up, of course. “

He grinned.

“I have a better idea. “

The riverbank was empty, thank god, finally giving them the much-needed bit of privacy. Eren was a bit afraid that Mikasa might turn his proposition down, after all they never did something like this before. Sure, they both stripped a bit here and there, but a full-blown nudity was a novel. Yet she said yes, and it was reasonable now that he thought about it. They never knew just how much time they had with each other with the lives they led, so taking things slow was not really an option. These logical thoughts disappeared from his head when they reached the river and everything he dreamed of actually started happening. From the previous things they did together, he had somewhat accurate idea about how her body looked like but seeing it in all its glory was another experience altogether. Damn, but she was hot. With a bit of nervous laughter on both sides, and a lot of lecherous stares, mostly from his side, they achieved the required state of undress and waddled into the water, the coldness of it making them both gasp. After that they just stood awkwardly apart from each other, eyes refusing to meet. Setting his jaw and deciding to take the reins for once, Eren crossed the short distance between them and slid his hand into her hair, angling her head to him. Mikasa was watching him, hands covering her chest, a blush spread on her cheeks. He kissed her nose, then the corner of her mouth, before finally claiming her mouth, the feeling being every bit as pleasurable as he remembered. She let her hands fall, wrapping them around him instead and brining herself even closer, which pushed her breasts right into his chest, making him enjoy the moment even more. Their moment of bliss got interrupted however, as a very familiar and at the moment very unwelcome voice called. 

“Mikasa? Are you here? “

They broke apart, and Eren frantically scanned the surroundings, trying to find a place to hide. Just when he noticed that there was none and was slowly making peace with his murder at the hands of Levi, Mikasa’s arm landed on top of his head, promptly pushing him underwater. A second later, Sasha came into view, peeking from the riverside plants. 

“I knew ill find you here! He said that you will be here, cleaning up. And why…“

Hyper aware of Eren quickly running out of oxygen, Mikasa cut into her friend’s speech, trying to make her go away as quickly as possible.

“Sasha, now is really not a good time. What do you need? “

“Oh, well, nothing important. Levi just said to find you and bring you back, dinner is soon. He also told me to find Eren, do you have any idea where he is? “

“No idea. Thanks for the message, ill head back as soon as I’m done here. “

For once understanding that she wants to be left alone, Sasha said her goodbye and left to search for Eren, deciding to try and find him in the pantry. He might be hiding there, right? The subject of her mission broke the surface of the river as soon as she was gone, breathing heavily. 

“Damn… That was… Close. “, he coughed out.

Mikasa shook her head, grinning and getting out to dress. When they were both once again fully clothed, she surprised him by pulling him close, planting another fierce kiss on his lips.

“Let’s give this another try, after lights out today. “, she whispered, running a finger down his jaw.

Eren nodded rapidly, words stolen from him. She often left him breathless now that he thought about it. With a reluctant sigh, Mikasa let go of him, walking back towards the cabin. Covertly watching her backside, knowing that if she caught him staring, she would most likely smack him, Eren couldn’t hold back a smile. Sure, they almost got caught, but it was so well worth it. And the day was far from over.


	5. Watch my back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.  
> Rating: M  
> Setting: Canon (chapter 103)  
> Prompt: Armin and Annie on a mission together

The creaking of their bed woke her. Opening her eyes, she saw Eren standing up and bending over to pick up his clothes from where they lay scattered on the floor, his face solemn. Mikasa shuffled a bit, pulling the blanket higher to cover her chest instinctively, which made her chuckle. Yeah, it was kind of late for that. He heard her moving around, and turned, offering her a tight smile. They both knew what was going to happen, they discussed it just the night prior. But it still hurt to say it. 

“You are leaving then? “, she asked, trying to sound neutral while the words spread a coldness in her chest. 

His eyes were sad, so sad that it makes her wonder if he feels the same way she does.

“I have to do this Mikasa, there is no other way. “

“I guess nothing can change your mind once you decide. “, it sounds bitter, and she blinks away the tears that threaten to fall form the corners of her eyes. He is leaving her.

The silence stretched, until Eren sighed, his shoulders tensing.

“If you ask me to say, I will stay. Because of you, I’ll do it. “

Mikasa gasped in surprise, she didn’t expect him to be like this. He would stay? For her? But deep down she knew that she won’t do it. As much as she wanted them to remain together, this mission of his is of utmost importance. And while others didn’t see it that way, after he explained his reasons to her, she understood. She always stood by him even when no one else did. 

“Come here, “, she pushed herself to sitting position, wincing a bit at the dull ache in her lower regions. Last night was particularly intense, with both of them knowing what comes in the morning they wanted to enjoy each other as much as they could.

He walked over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her. Mikasa reached out, grabbing his hair and pulling him to her, slamming his lips into hers, putting all her fears and pain into the kiss. Eren kissed her back with all his own feelings, the love and regret and everything he felt, trying to convey it to her, make her understand. A hand slowly creeped up his chest, pushing him away, gently but firmly

“Go. “, she said, “And don’t die. Please. “

Eren stood up, going to the door, each step tearing at his heart. 

“I swear ill live through this, “, he turned, the sun from outside illuminating his figure, “We will be together again, and this time nothing will come between us. “

And he was gone.

The morning still lingered in Mikasa’s memories, even now, months later. The command tent was full, everyone of importance in the upcoming mission was in attendance. Frowning, she saw that Levi was on the edge again, clenching his fists absently while watching the maps. He was getting overly emotional when the beast titan was involved, the death of Erwin still weighing on his mind. 

“You will get your chance, don’t worry. “, Hange was speaking, her singular eye roaming over the lines. “But you will follow the plan to the letter. “

“Oh yeah? “, he faced her, and even with being shorter, the air of danger around him was scary, “And what if I don’t? “

Hange didn’t even flinch, his words washing over her like a rain over a mountain.

“I’m your commanding officer, Ackerman, and you best remember it. The plan will be done as I say it will, or not at all. Are we clear? “

He snorted but backed off, sulking. Hange fixed her glasses, sweeping her gaze through the room.

“Now if there are no other questions? “

Armin coughed and stepped forward, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. Mikasa groaned. She had the feeling she knew what he was going to talk about.

“Commander, I still think that we should take Annie. “

Yep, she was right.

“We talked about this, numerous times, she can’t be trusted. “, Hange was about as fed up with his constant defending of Leonhart as Mikasa was. 

“But I… “

“Armin, drop it. “, Mikasa surprised herself by speaking out, but damn he was persistent. “She doesn’t deserve this from you. “

His eyes snapped to hers, and she was surprised to see the anger boiling in them.

“So, Annie doesn’t deserve it? Yet here we are, mounting a rescue mission for Eren, who left without saying anything. “

“That’s hardly the same, Eren is our friend! “

“Friend? “, Armin said in a mocking voice, “I think that he is a bit more than a friend to you, isn’t he? Or do you think that we are all stupid and blind? “

She blushed, taken aback by the sheer malice from him. He turned away from her, addressing the whole room again, pleading. “I’m prepared to take full responsibility for her. But please, take her with us, she is invaluable. “

The room was silent after his outburst. Hange adjusted her glasses, cleaning her throat.

“All right. “

The mission went smoothly, a surprise to some. Slipping under the Marley’s radar, they separated, leaving Jean, Mikasa and most of their forces to spread into the city. The remaining members followed Annie, coming to a hill overlooking an airport. Hange licked her lips upon seeing the anchored blips, trying to hold her excitement in. 

“All right Leonhart, lets see if our trust in you wasn’t misplaced. “

Annie shrugged, throwing off her cloak and walking towards the field. Once she was in safe distance, she transformed, closing the remaining stretch with a speed of a sprinting titan. The guards had no idea what hit them, being eliminated in a matter of seconds. Hange waved her team forward, and they ran to the airships, quickly boarding. 

“Armin, you know what to do now? “

He nodded, and the commander closed the door, leaving him alone with Annie.

“Just the two of us now. “, he forced a smile to appear on his face, despite the tightness in his chest. If she was going to make a run for it, now was the best time.

Annie looked down at him from her height, her blue eyes unreadable. Slowly, she reached down, grabbing him and picking him up. Armin’s heart was hammering in his chest. All she had to do now was squeeze, and he was dead. She could destroy the mission here and now, dooming Paradis once and for all. Yet she did nothing of sorts. Setting him down on her shoulder, she picked up the speed again, aiming for the docks. They still had a mission to fulfil. 

The city was in uproar already. Eren was most likely fighting the Warhammer by now, reducing the center to ruins. Just a single letter, that’s all he sent them, and they all came to save him. Perhaps once he gets back, he will appreciate them more. His thought got jumbled with Annie coming a to a staggering halt, and he had to grip her hair not to fall. The street before them was filled with soldiers, now running around sounding alarm, trying to turn the cannons towards the female titan. With an explosion that shook the air, the first ones fired. Annie hunched over, trying to protect her precious cargo, the shells tearing into her body. Staggering, she fell, tearing down a small building in the process and Armin landed on the ground. Crawling around on his hands and knees, he looked for her nape, but the air was thick with dust and smoke. He heard the soldiers outside, calling, trying to locate them. Fuck, he can’t transform now, it would completely jeopardize the mission. He had to destroy the Marley navy, otherwise everything will be lost. His body wasn’t able to handle two transformations in a row, he was simply too big. Coughing violently, he found what he was looking for, the titan’s nape with Annie half out of it, her eyes closed. She must have tried to leave the body, but the impact threw her back and she hit her head midair, and that knocked her out. Pulling hard, he was able to get her out, laying her unconscious body on the cobblestones. 

“Come on, come on, “, he slapped her cheeks lightly, hoping to wake her up. 

The dust was settling, and the voices of soldiers were coming closer and closer. Gritting his teeth, he slapped her again, putting more force into it. Just as he was about to hit her for possibly the last time before being found, her eyes shot open. His triumph was short lived, as the smoke parted to reveal a man in Marley uniform staring right at them, raising his rifle. Annie sat up, pulling Armin down in the process, shielding his body with her own. The rifle fired, and he could hear her grunt, blood spraying his face. Wounded, she stood up, clutching her stomach, while the man struggled to reload. The heat of transformation knocked Armin on his back, the roar of the titan deafening him. He heard the alarmed cries of the soldiers as Annie attacked them, throwing their bodies around like toys. He forced himself to stand, following her. Finally reaching the edge of the smoke and dust, he saw that everyone was dead. The cannons destroyed, bodies lying everywhere. Armin felt his shoulders tighten. This was the prize of war. Men he didn’t know, dead, just because they stood on the other side of the barricade. Annie seemed to have no regrets about what she’s done however, putting him on her shoulder again and picking up the pace, their time short. 

They reached the docks, and she set him down, her part done. Armin boarded one of the fishing ships, undoing the ropes and letting it drift away, his eyes not leaving the titan on the shore. Annie was also watching him, and Armin could swear that he saw longing in her eyes. The distant sound of explosion woke her up, and with a last look, she disappeared back between the buildings. Armin sat down, pulling his hood up. His part to play was approaching. 

He didn’t know how long he was waiting, the sounds of navy approaching deafening his ears. Some soldier was calling for him, most likely to tell him to leave, that this is a dangerous area. Taking a quick look around, he saw that now was the time. Armin pulled his hood down, watching as the man’s face transformed from concern to pure horror.

And with a flash of light and devastating explosion, the colossal titan transformed


	6. Asylum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.  
> Rating: M  
> Setting: Modern AU
> 
> One shot focused on an asylum, and a relationship of a certain patient and her doctor.

“I’m telling you man, I have a meeting here. “

He could as well be talking to a mountain. The large blonde security guard didn’t even spare him another glance, waiting patiently by the gate, blocking his entrance. 

“I cannot let anyone in sir, unless director Erwin tells me to. “, he replied, perfectly formal but with the undertone that suggested that he would rather stand on his spot for eternity before letting anyone uncalled for in. 

Throwing his hands in the air, letting his frustration get the better of him, Eren sat down on the hood of his car, shielding his eyes form the sun and watching the looming building behind the wall. It looked old, but renovated, with modern electric lights on both sides of the road that led to the door, the one that was at the moment blocked to him by a massive metal gate. Just when he was about to jump down and go bother the guard again, a new voice called out, and he saw another man approaching at a brisk pace. With a single word to the security, he stepped aside, and let the newcomer join Eren in front of the gate. 

“Hey!, “ he called, coming closer to offer his hand. Just as Eren took it, the sun shone a bit brighter, illuminating the new guy’s features. Only his long medical training prevented him from recoiling in horror. While the left half of his face was completely normal, the right side was a mangled mass of scars. The right corner of his mouth was permanently pulled up in a smile, his ear was missing its earlobe and the skin was marked by several deep scratches. His eye was sitting in the middle of that mess, somehow escaping whatever force destroyed his exterior. The stranger noticed his reaction and grinned, the visage growing somewhat friendlier.

“Something on my face? “

“O-Oh. No... I’m just… I’m sorry. “, Eren’s mind scrambled for answers, trying to put together something that won’t make him look like a total asshole. 

“Its fine, really, I’m just teasing. “, the scarred man waved his hand, “You are doing great to be honest, most of the people who see me run away in fear. “He squeezed Eren’s palm, which made him remember that they were actually shaking hands. “I’m Jean. “

“I-Its nice to meet you, really. I’m Eren. Eren Yeager. “

“Eren! Finally, we have been waiting for you. Come along now, we have a lot to talk about. “Turning his back, he started his journey back towards the building, only turning his head to say. “Leave your car keys with Reiner here, he will make sure that you get your things carried to your room. “

The walk was quiet, with Eren feeling too embarrassed to ask anything, and Jean not offering him any more words. Reaching the house, they passed another gate inside, this time guarded by a tall dark-haired guard, who offered him a small smile in passing. Jean didn’t say anything until they reached a stark white room with a table and two chairs, sitting down with a sigh. Following his example, Eren sat down himself, noticing that the desk was covered with papers. Picking one out, Jean handed him the list, which upon closer inspection became a Non-disclosure agreement.

“Now before I say anything more, “, Jean started, interrupting Eren’s train of thoughts, “I will need you to sign this NDA, otherwise we can’t move any further. “He handed him a pen. “Our clients value their privacy above all else, and if you can’t promise your silence by signing this, I’ll have to ask you to leave. “

Licking his lips, Eren scanned the contract, his mind racing. This was highly unorthodox, that they wanted him to sign an NDA right off the bat, but if he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t really say no. The job was very well-paying, and frankly, he needed the money. Medical school and the bills for his mother’s treatment put him in a severe debt. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he signed, and handed over the paper back to Jean, who stashed it away.

“All right. “, he said, putting his hands on the table and intertwining his fingers. “With this out of the way we can talk a bit more openly. Tell me, what do you know about Levi Ackerman? “

“Levi Ackerman? “, Eren searched his memory, recalling the name from a few news reports. “He is some kind of successful businessman, no? Pretty rich if I remember correctly. “

“That’s one way of saying it. “, Jean nodded, “Now tell me, does Mr. Ackerman has any family? “

Raking his brain again, Eren slowly shook his head. He couldn’t remember a single photo or interview that would talk about Levi’s personal life, it was always about business or money, the usual stuff.

“Now what if I would tell you, that Mr. Ackerman has a sister, one you never heard about? “

“Well… I would be rather surprised. Why doesn’t he talk about her at all? “

“Its rather sad story, “, Jean began, reclining in his chair. “Ill try to keep it as short as possible, because you need to understand it perfectly if you are to work here. After Mr. Ackerman left his house and pursued his career, his parents remained alone with their daughter, Mikasa. When she was nine years old, something terrible happened. Two thieves broke into their house, looking to pick the place clean. Unluckily for everyone, they were clumsy enough to wake the whole family. Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman came down, to check what caused the noise, and surprised the criminals. “Jean took a shuddering breath, as if the telling of the story was hurting him. “Terrified, the thieves shot them both dead. Young Mikasa saw it all, and when they started arguing about what to do with the bodies she acted. But she didn’t run away or hide, as a normal child would. She sneaked into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and killed them both. “

“What? “, Eren cried in disbelief. “A nine-year-old girl killed two grown men? “

Jean nodded. “I know that it may seem impossible for you, but that’s the truth. The police found her standing over their bodies, coated in blood, still holding the murder weapon. “, rubbing the bridge of his nose, he continued. “She wasn’t right in the head ever since. Mr. Ackerman first tried taking care of her, but his job didn’t allow him to have the time for her himself. So, he found her a foster family, hoping that they will be able to raise her. She attacked them, breaking a few bones, and ran away. After finding her, Mr. Ackerman correctly assumed that she wasn’t completely normal, and searched for a doctor to treat her. That’s how he found Mr. Smith, the director of this institution. With a careful examination, he was able to pinpoint the cause of her troubles. Mikasa hates being touched. By anyone. She reacts very violently, with a surprising amount of strength. She also very rarely talks, and usually express herself by sounds or gestures. “Jean sighed, looking out of the window. “Smith first tried curing her, a hundred different methods to get her to open up, but none of them worked. Running out of options, he presented Ackerman with the last possible solution. She can’t live normally, for obvious reasons, and mental health facilities would most likely just drug her to keep her from attacking anyone. So, Levi Ackerman did the most humane thing. “Jean waved his hand around. “He bought an old building, and had it rebuild into an asylum, designed specially for his sister. “

“Wait, she is the only patient here? “, Eren asked, dumbfounded.

“No, that would draw attention. We have a several residents, but most of them are very light cases. Depressions, some eating disorders, nothing too severe or dangerous. She is the only one. “

“So that’s how he keeps her hidden from the world. A private asylum. “

“I know that you are probably thinking that it’s an asshole move, but Ackerman did what he could for her. She just didn’t respond to anything and anyone, there is no way to treat her, this is really the best possible solution for her. Here, she isn’t treated like an animal. We respect her condition, and make sure that she gets a plenty of fresh air, human contact and other necessities. “, he directed his gaze at his fingers, suddenly looking very embarrassed. “And if we forget ourselves, we get punished. “

“Punished? Does it have something to do with those wounds on your face? “

“Oh, you guessed it? “, Jean laughed, but without any real happiness in it. He looked up. “It’s my fault, what happened to me. You know I had the job you are applying for before. “

“What does that mean? “

“Your job, if you accept that is, would be a fulltime partner for Miss Ackerman. You would monitor her 24/7, keep her company on her walks, bring her food, everything really. Its not a bad job, and the pay is pretty damn amazing, so I’d advice that you take it. “

“If it’s that amazing “, Eren gestured to his face, “Then how did that happen? “

“I. I touched her. “, seeing the alarm on Eren’s face, Jean quickly continued, “Nothing perverse or anything, I swear! We were just sitting outside, and I just, I saw how nice her hair looks with the sun shining onto it. So, I reached out and just ran a finger through it. “, he shook his head. “It was a dumb fucking mistake. She froze the moment I did it, and when I finally realized what happened, she jumped me. She is insanely strong, I couldn’t defend myself. “reaching up, he traced the lines of the scars with his fingertips. “I passed out from the pain, screaming. That luckily alerted others, and they were able to drag her off me and knock her out with drugs. “He took a deep breath, letting his hand fall back on the table. “You don’t have to worry though, we made certain, adjustments after the incident. “

“What kind? “

Reaching into his pocket, Jean pulled out a device, that looked like a tiny remote. It had only one, bright red button, and a sleek black design. “This. “, he poked it with his finger. “Is a remote control for the collar that was put on Mikasa when she was under. If you press the button, it will deliver an electric shock to her system, strong enough to knock her out. “

Eren was genuinely horrified. “What? You are collaring patients? What kind of asylum are you? “

“No. “, Jean managed to keep his cool, despite the other’s outburst. “We do not collar patients. We collared a single one, who is threat to the employees. While I was in the hospital, getting my face treated, Erwin called Levi and they both agreed, that while we should be punished if we cross our boundaries, having half of our face clawed off is hardly acceptable. So, they had this made, and so far, we only had to use it once. It works marvelously. “Seeing Eren’s disgusted face, he sighed. “Look, no one is forcing you to use it, but trust me when I say that I would be incredibly glad to have it when she was on top of me, tearing out chunks of my flesh with her bare fingers. “

Eren reached out, running his fingers along the cold plastic. He couldn’t deny that what happened to Jean was hardly fair but treating a mental patient like an animal was prickling his skin. Jean suddenly stood up, taking the remote back into his pocket and offering him a smile.

“Let’s go see her, ok? “

Mikasa’s cell was a spacious room, with a large bed in one corner, and a massive TV in the other. The wall had a number of gym machines standing next to it, the floor covered with a luxurious carpet. The inhabitant was doing push ups at the moment, her body moving at a speed that made her almost blurry. The adjacent room was his future office, with a monitor connected to a camera in her cell, making him able to see her at all times. The only part of her life where she was allowed to have privacy was the bathroom. 

“Does she do that a lot? “, asked Eren, watching her move up and down at a murderous rate. 

“Work out? Yea. “, Jean came to stand next to him. “It’s basically her favorite activity, besides watching TV. “

Mikasa stood up in the cell, stretching, and looked straight into the camera, her grey eyes piercing. Even when she couldn’t see him, Eren felt himself shiver. 

“So, are you interested in the job? “Jean asked, waking him from his trance.

Staring into her face through the monitor, Eren had a feeling that he is making a very important decision now, even when he couldn’t quite pin why.

“Yes. “

If Eren would describe his time at the asylum with a single word, it would be peace. His work was exactly what Jean described. He spent most of the day at the office, watching Mikasa through the camera. His routine, which he quickly adopted, was the same every day. He woke up, ate his breakfast, then took food to Mikasa’s cell, sitting down in his office and beginning the first part of his watch. At noon, he ate, brought her food again, which was followed by her time out. They roamed the grounds of the asylum, with her leading and him trailing behind, feeling like a ghost. As Jean warned him, she didn’t talk, but it wasn’t hard to understand what she wanted. When she sat down, he followed her example, knowing that she just wants to remain here for a while, gazing at the sun. Her walks never had a set time limit. She remained outside as long as she wanted to, and when she was done, she headed back to her cell, with him behind her. Once she was back inside, he remained in his office till dinner, which he brought her again, and afterwards he had a free time. 

During that, he got to know the other employees of the asylum. Apart from the scarred Jean, there were the two security guards, the tall one was Berthold, the blonde one Reiner, another bunch of doctors, namely Krista, Ymir and Connie. The cook’s name was Sasha, and she was amazing at her job. The head of the whole institution was director Erwin Smith, but he was almost never here, since he was the leader of several other medical institutions, which required more of his attention than an asylum with effectively a single patient. In his absence, the administrative decisions were made by an energetic brown-haired woman, named Hange Zoe. Eren also took his time to get to know the other patients, and he found out that Jean was talking the truth. Most of them were there just to enjoy some time off, taking advantage of the modern facilities the asylum provided, away from the hectic life of the city. 

Boredom. That was his worst enemy. With the building’s location being in the middle of nowhere, he soon discovered that watching someone else a whole day might be a bit monotone. He started reading a lot, or watching movies on his laptop, with the high-speed Wi-Fi that the asylum provided he browsed the internet, trying to take his mind off the monotone tasks in front of him. He also joined the after-hours poker club the staff ran, and soon found out that he is rather bad at cards. One morning, standing in front of the mirror, he noticed the effects of Sasha’s cooking, threatening his fit body. To battle it, he decided to start running, which spawned an amazing idea in his head. 

The next morning, after he brought Mikasa her breakfast, he came into her cell in his workout setup, doing his best to appear energetic and pumped up. “Hey, Mikasa, how about you join me for a run? “. She stared at him, her face complete blank, making him feel that he overstepped his boundaries by quite a lot. Just as he was about to apologize and back out of her door, she said her first ever word to him. “Okay. “

Running with her gave him a new insight on her abilities. Her stamina was insane, she wasn’t even winded when he started panting so hard that he had to stop, clutching his chest and feeling that he is about to die. The runs became their ritual, and he discovered that he is looking forward to them, even when later Jean and others would make fun of him, because Mikasa always left him in the dust. This simple action somehow broke the barrier of awkwardness between them, and Eren finally started to feel more relaxed around her. She still didn’t talk to him, but he talked to her, telling her about himself, about his family, about the accident that burned their house down, killing his father and binding his mother to a wheelchair. He told her about his childhood, how he always was on his own until he met his best friend, Armin, and they formed a brotherhood for life. He choked on laughter when he told her how they tried to make bond by blood, but after Eren cut his hand he started crying from the sting, they quickly abandoned the idea. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he could swear that he saw her lips twitch upwards a tiny bit. She didn’t answer to any of his stories, but she reacted in her own ways. Subtle gestures, or grimaces, tiny things he picked up, and treasured in his heart, because they made him feel warm on the inside. 

With them growing closer, he discovered that Jean was right even about the last thing he told him. She was so fucking beautiful. Like a siren, she drew him closer and closer, even when he knew, he fucking knew, that he can’t ever have her. But those little gestures, like when she tucked her hair behind her ear, or when she made that tiny smile of hers, it filled his head. The height of his suffering happened at night, when he woke up startled, realizing that he just had a wet dream, with her in the lead role. Running a hand down his sweaty face, he had the feeling that Jean’s actions weren’t as stupid as he thought at the beginning. The next day was a torture, every time he saw her the reality blended in with the dream, and he caught himself imagining what would it be like, touching her delicate face, or tracing that scar under her eye with his fingertips. When his shift was finally done, he dragged himself to the common room, where the other has already started their usual game of poker. 

“Hey Eren, something wrong? “, Jean asked, the scarred part of his face twitching as he smiled.

“Where can I get something to drink? Preferably something really strong. “

Sensing that now was not the time to talk, he stood up, producing a key from his pocket. “Seems like its high time I introduce you to my secret stash. “

The pounding on the door was loud, and it didn’t stop even when Eren pulled a pillow over his head, shouting to leave him alone. When the lock clicked, he cursed anyone who came up with the idea of keys, and soon the pillow was pulled from his head by Reiner, who had his usual expression of a boulder. Behind him was the big man himself, director Smith. Seeing him, Eren quickly scrambled from the bed, doing his best to look presentable in an old shirt and boxers. 

“Its okay, really, “chuckled Erwin, waving a hand in dismissal. “You are not the first or the last one who drinks a little bit too much and has a hangover in the morning. “He offered him a sympathetic smile. “Normally we would just let you sleep it off, after all you have been here for half a year already, without taking a single day off, but there is a situation which sadly requires your attention. “

Eren stared at him, his half-asleep half-drunk brain trying to piece together what to say. “Erm… What situation sir? “ 

Erwin chuckled, heading out of the door. “Get dressed and come see for yourself. “

Jean was sitting on the floor, clutching a pack of ice to his left eye. Upon seeing Eren however, he grinned, giving him thumbs up. “That’s quite a liver you have if you are standing after yesterday. I’ve never seen anyone drink so much in one evening. “  
Eren shrugged, pointing at the swelling on the sitting man’s face. “What happened? “

“Mikasa happened. “, he shrugged, clearly not making a big deal out of it. “When you were…incapacitated in the morning, I was sent to bring her breakfast instead of you. When she saw me, she threw the mug at me. She’s got quite a pitch. “

“Fuck Jean, I’m sorry. I never knew that she will react like this. “

“Oh yeah, she seems to be rather dependent on you. After her throwing performance, she screamed a single word at me. “he grinned, “Your name. “

Gulping, he slowly opened the cell, walking inside. Mikasa was standing in the middle of it, fists balled, looking ready to knock the next person who enters cold. But when she saw him, her face broke into a huge smile, one that tugged at his heart in a way nothing ever did before. 

“Eren! “, she called, the whites of her teeth shining.

“Yea its me. Listen I’m sorry that I missed this morning, but you can’t just throw mugs at people who aren’t me. “, she seemed ashamed a bit, dropping her gaze at her feet. “If I bring you another breakfast, will you eat it? We can go running afterwards. “. She nodded eagerly. Only when he left her room to fetch the food for her, he realized that he just promised that he will go for a run with the biggest hangover he ever had. 

It was a downwards spiral from there. Several times he had to draw his hand back, almost touching her when she wasn’t looking. The dreams got even worse, and he was regularly waking up to find his boxers stained by them. Worst thing was that he knew he should go to Erwin, explain his situation and ask to be reassigned, anything to get away from her. But he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her. Not when she actually started smiling at him, laughing at his jokes and overall being the most relaxed she ever was. The mistake that will end him was bound to happen. And happen it did.

They were sitting on the bench outside, and he was talking about how he and Armin got drunk at a freshman party and got dared to kiss each other. Just as he was about to get to the best part, a single leaf fell from the tree, landing in her hair. Without thinking, he reached out, running his fingers through them to get it out. The moment they made contact, she froze. Wrapped in his story, it took him a moment to realize what he has done, but just as he stood up, to try and run for it, she jumped him. Jean must be some kind of saint because he seemed to never lie. She was exactly as strong as he told him, easily batting his hands aside, and going for his throat. Frantically trying to push her off, he fished in his pocket for the remote control of her electric collar. Just as he closed his fingers around it, her hand found his windpipe, and she squeezed, cutting the call for help short. His vision started darkening, air quickly disappearing from his lungs. His thumb found the button….and he didn’t press it. With a terrible clarity he realized that he can’t do it. He can’t treat the girl he fell for, one who was through so much like an animal. Gasping for breath, he let the plastic object fall from his hand, focusing his quickly darkening gaze at her face. She was so beautiful.  
He woke up coughing, lying on the same place, right next to the bench. Mikasa was sitting next to him on the ground, any trace of aggressiveness gone. She was turning the remote in her hands, studying it. He sat up, feeling his throat. Breathing was still painful, every gulp of air burned in his lungs, but it was so much better than not having any oxygen at all. 

“You didn’t. “, was all she said. He looked up, meeting her steel grey gaze with his own, slowly shaking his head. “I couldn’t do it to you. “With a curious expression, she crawled closer, offering him the device. Eren shook his head. “Destroy it. “She smiled and closed her fist, the plastic breaking. Mikasa stood up swiftly, but as he was about to follow her, he noticed her hand extended towards him. She was watching him, her eyes drawing him in like they always did, and he found out that he can’t deny her. His arm shaking, he took her hand and she pulled him to his feet, heading back to the asylum. She didn’t let go. 

Eren removed the collar from her right as they got back, drawing a surprised look from anyone who saw it. Yet no one protested. It didn’t take long before others realized what happened, and he was soon treated like the local hero, able to draw the elusive Mikasa Ackerman from her shell. If he was being honest, he didn’t care about their praise. He cared about being able not to spend time in his office, instead he was with her in her room, the monotone of his days shattered. They worked out together, ate together, or laid in her bed with her back on his chest, watching the massive TV screen. Here, finally able to run his fingers through her hair, he felt happier than he ever did. This shift towards him didn’t mean that she was cured however. She still didn’t talk much and didn’t bear anyone else’s touch than Eren’s. The progress was slow, but it was there. 

One day, walking to his room, exhausted after Mikasa decided that she wants to go for a evening run, he was greeted by a singular person he never expected to find there. Short man, with perfectly fitted dark suit and icy stare, somehow emitting an aura of dominance even with his small frame. 

“Doctor Yeager, “, he greeted him, gesturing towards Eren’s bed. “Sit. “

He followed the order, his brain still wrapping around what was happening. Did he hear that he was getting handsy with his sister? Is he going to fire him? He felt icy fingers of fear wrap around his heart when he imagined being separated from Mikasa. 

“I have come to check the progress of your…treatment. Director Smith reported that you are doing exceptionally well, and naturally I had to see it with my own eyes. “, he looked at Eren, his expression unreadable. “I had the pleasure of seeing you and her on the bed together, I saw the way she lets you touch her, I saw the way she relaxes around you. “He took a deep breath and Eren sank on his bed, fearing the consequences. “I have never seen my sister happier than she was there, with you. “A smile, genuine if small, broke through the icy demeanor, as Levi continued. “After witnessing what I did, I have a proposition for you. I have bought a private island a few years back, I don’t really remember why, and built a house there, perhaps hoping that I will be able to live out my retirement there. But after today, I have a better use for it. “. He cleared his throat. “Dr. Yeager, I do not beg, so I will say this only once. Please, take my sister there, and continue whatever you are doing with her. “

Eren’s eyes widened when he realized what he was asking from him. Yet he knew what his answer will be the second he heard the plea. 

“It would be an honor. “

Mikasa clutched his hand all the way to the airport and during the flight. Eren wasn’t surprised. After all, she was locked in that asylum for at least eight years. Seeing civilization after being cut off for this long must have been quite a shock. Arriving at the island, Eren saw that it was really quite small. Just enough space for the large house and some grounds around, it was isolated, but there was a bigger island nearby, full of tourists, if they ever want back into civilization. This everything was told to them by a smiling captain of the boat that took them to their new home, judging from the way he acted around Mikasa he knew about her condition, most likely being on Levi’s payroll. Any of your needs will be taken care of, there’s a small army of servants ready, he continued, steering the boat. Eren was just nodding, still not completely believing it. Only after they were unloaded with their bags, and he left, saying to call if they need anything, he took a deep breath and looked over the endless ocean, feeling the rays of sunlight on his skin. 

If Eren was to describe his stay at the island with a single word, it would be paradise. It was perfect little haven, safe from the world, but connected just the right way. Anything they ever needed was brought to them, all they had to do was make a call. The house was cleaned by two very professional looking older women, who moved so fast that Eren often didn’t even notice them. And as it that wasn’t good enough, he got another surprise right at the night of their arrival. When they finished touring the house, he dropped his bags, seeing Mikasa climb into one of the beds, yawning. 

“Yea, I’m pretty beat too. “he stretched. “I guess ill go find a bed of my own then. “If he counted right, there were five available bedrooms, so he wasn’t really worried. Mikasa however shook her head and patted the space next to her, frowning. Feeling his ears warm when he realized what she was suggesting, he scratched the back of his head. “I’m not sure we should sleep in one bed, Mika, its not very proper. “She seemed to completely ignore him, patting the space next to her again, more insistent. Knowing that if he doesn’t listen to her, she will most likely drag him there by force, he carefully laid next to her, trying his best to give her as much space as possible. Any of his efforts were in vain, because as soon as he was on his back she was on top of him, her hands grabbing his wrists and pinning them on his sides. The beginning of the question he was going to ask her got muffled, because she insistently pushed her lips on his, silencing him. Their first kiss was awkward and messy, which was understandable, considering that it was her first one in her whole life. When they separated, he watched her wide eyes, wanting nothing more than to just give it another try. 

“Mi…. “, he tried saying, but her finger silenced him. 

“Shh. “, she shook her head, indicating that now was really not the time for words. Dipping her head, she tried again, and he surrendered to the sweet sensation of her lips, much softer than he ever imagined. 

He taught her to swim, laughing when she dipped her head underwater and came out screaming, they walked the beach together, watched movies and read books, overall just doing anything they felt like. Mikasa seemed to be determined to get better at the whole kissing thing, and he was more than willing to cooperate, often being tackled by her at the most random moments of the day. One evening, when they were practicing again, he felt her hand trailing down his chest, clearly intending to touch him as much as possible. He tried pulling his hips away from her, but she noticed immediately, her eyes widening when she felt the hardness in his pants. 

“Look I… “, Eren licked his lips, wrestling with the unspoken question shining in her eyes. Fuck, he never realized just how innocent she was. She may have the body of a fully grown young woman, but inside she didn’t know anything about the world outside, or how it worked. Being locked away at age of nine made that to you. Of course, she got some information from watching TV, but Eren was kind of sure that they never allowed her to watch anything explicit. That meant that now he left trying to puzzle how to explain sex to her. Well, he thought to himself, remembering an old saying of his mother, if you can’t say, show it. Luckily for him, the house had internet access, and if there was one thing on the internet, it was porn. 

The pair on the screen was just finishing, with Mikasa watching with wide eyes, clearly not expecting this as an explanation. When it finally faded to black, she turned to him. But instead of the disgust he expected, he saw something in her face that made him shiver. She licked her lips, coming closer, kissing him, her hand reaching down to grab his member, squeezing it a bit. He broke away from her, pushing himself back a bit. This was happening way too fast. 

“You…You want this. Want that? “, he gestured towards the screen. 

She nodded, slowly, reaching down and pulling her shirt off, almost casually. He felt his throat go dry. Sure, he saw her in bikini before, but the sheer nakedness was something that he wasn’t really prepared for. Mikasa didn’t seem to be the one to stare much, as she tugged him down by the hand, covering him once more. Making the decision not to fight the fate, considering that he couldn’t stop her anyway, Eren very willingly surrendered, breaching down the last barrier between them. 

The beach was hot, and he was very glad that he didn’t dress in a suit for today. Most of the small group of guests arrived with similar thoughts in mind, only Erwin and Levi both boldly sweated in dark tuxedos. Mikasa looked absolutely breathtaking in the simple white dress, the bump on her stomach making her look even more lively then usual. The ceremony was quick, just an exchange of words, with the little “I do “falling from her lips being the most beautiful sound he ever heard, rings and a kiss, and just like that, she was his and he was hers. For all eternity. Everyone was clapping, with Levi wiping away his tears with Erwin’s handkerchief, and Eren’s mother openly crying, but all he could see was her. 

Levi was still emotional when he congratulated them, clutching Eren’s hand with new drops already forming in the corners of his eyes. “You gave her the life I never thought she will have. I’ll never be able to repay you, Eren, never in my life. “, letting go, he turned to her, clearing his throat, trying to say something. She hugged him. Throwing her whole body against his, she wrapped her arms around his torso, and he buried his face in her shoulder, losing the battle with tears once more. Watching the two siblings embrace, perhaps for the first time in their life, Eren felt his own eyes sting with tears he held back. But when Mikasa let go of Levi and hugged him instead, holding her, feeling the small bump on her stomach signaling the new life they made together, he let them fall. 

Against all odds, they did it.


	7. My kingdom for a knife pt.I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.   
> Rating: M  
> Setting: Medieval AU  
> Prompt: Royal Eremika

The chest landed on the table with a heavy thud, indicating its significant weight. The man sitting behind the wooden structure however, didn’t seem impressed. He leaned forward, letting the flame of the candle illuminate his wrinkled face. He was old, his age was clearly visible as it carved mercilessly into his skin, but it didn’t matter. His eyes, the orbs of ice that made people feel insignificant by a single gaze, looked at the offering, and a hand slowly creeped its way forward until it flipped the lid. The small room was immediately illuminated by the glittering of the treasure inside. Gold, diamonds, precious stones. More money combined than most people see in their whole lifetime.

“That’s a lot of cash. “, he said, leaning back into the chair and tipping his black broad brimmed hat to shade his eyes.

“It’s a hard target. “, the hooded figure on the other side of the table shifted a bit in his seat, maybe showing some small signs of unrest. “And from what I heard, you are the best. “

Kenny Ackerman, the head of the Eldian underworld and leader of the Ackerman clan, grinned. 

“We are the best, “, he confirmed, “because we train each and every member of our little family since birth to be a living weapon, merciless and deadly. “, he leaned back forward, fixing the hooded one with a stare. “But this money, it is more than enough to offer our services. So, tell me, who is the mark? “

He couldn’t see the face of his client, but he could swear that he had a wide smile on his face when he replied. 

“The prince, Eren Yeager. “

“So, we are going to kill a member of the royal family now? “, Levi finished his glass, putting it back on the table with a thump. “This might be fun. Where should I kill him? “

Kenny reached out with the bottle, refiling his second-in-command’s glass. “As much as I love your enthusiasm, I believe that this one requires a more…. How should I say it, gentle, touch. “He put the bottle back on the table. “Do you know if Mikasa is around? “

Levi tipped his head back and barked out a laugh. “Mikasa? Gentle? You are kidding old man. Did you see how she cut up the last guy? They are probably still collecting pieces of him from the canals. “He shook his head. “Hey brat! Get your ass in here! “Levi might be a short man, but he had a powerful voice. 

There were footsteps outside the room and then the door flew open, revealing another figure. A girl this time, with slanted eyes and a scar on her cheek, short black hair creating a contrast against her porcelain white skin. Her gaze was hard as it shifted from one man to the other, lips pressed into a thin line. 

“What’s up? “

Kenny gestured for her to come closer, filling another glass with the alcohol. “Come, sit. We have a lot to talk about. “

Mikasa crossed the distance with a catlike grace, a type of ease that is gained through years of training. She slid into the chair but didn’t touch her drink. Kenny grinned at her. 

“We have a new target, and I want you to be the one to kill him. “

She shrugged, unaffected. “Sure. Who is it? “

“Eren Yeager, the crown prince of our little kingdom. “

“A prince? “, she repeated, her eyes sliding over to the assassin sitting next to her. “Why don’t you have Levi do it? He is the more experienced one. “

“Because he is a strapping young lad from what I heard. “, Kenny’s smile didn’t waver for a second, but Mikasa frowned when she realized what is he implying. 

“You want me to kill him or fuck him? Why does his looks matter? No one will give a shit once I stick a knife in his gut. “

The old man shook his head. “You can take it as you will, but I am the leader of this organization and I want you to kill him. Understood? “

Mikasa nodded, standing up and making for the door.

“Oh, and try to survive, will you? I have invested quite a lot of cash into you. “, Kenny’s grin was downright creepy this time around, and she let the door close with a bang.

Investment was the right word. As a member of the Ackerman family, Mikasa was trained since she was born in the way of sneaking, stealing, and of course, assassinations. As the only female member of the clan, Kenny insisted that she learns how to use her looks to bait and entrap her prey. So, she was also skilled in conversation, flirting and all the other shit that went along with that. Up to this point in her career however, she never had to actually fuck someone to finish the job. Worst she had to do was a few handjobs, and once she had to be topless before finally slitting the throat of that fucking pervert that was her mark. Mikasa still shuddered when she remembered the way he groped her chest. She entered the small room on the top floor of the whorehouse that was Kenny’s base of operation. It was tiny, just a bed and a few shelfs, but it was her own. Mikasa laid down on the bed, staring up to the ceiling, collecting her thoughts. So, a prince was her next target, that should be good. A predatory smile spread on her lips, and she reached down to stroke the hilt of the dagger at her belt. The way Kenny insisted that she is the one to kill him unsettled her. It must be some kind of test, she decided. Well, if the old man wants a show of her abilities, he will get one. She won’t just shank him on the street or cut his throat in the castle. She will be careful, scout her prey, get close, and attack when he will least expect it. Now that she thought about it, the old fuck did her a favor. 

“Soon, Eren. “she whispered to the silence of the room, “Soon. “

He was an idiot. There was no other way to put it. First thing in the morning, she went down to ask the whores if they knew of a way into the palace, so she could get in. What she discovered shocked her. The crown prince of the kingdom didn’t spend his days in the safety of the walls. Every day he could be found in a clinic, treating the common folk. For free. What a dumbass, Mikasa thought to herself. The whore who was telling her all this had a dreamy look in her eyes when she described him.

“He is so kind, and handsome, and so smart too. “, she sighed happily. “He cares for every patient and doesn’t care what you are. He treats us, whores, beggars, anyone that comes with a sickness. And doesn’t want anything in return. “

“Anything? “, Mikasa asked. “Not even, you know, some sort of physical repayment? “

“I get what you are implying, but no. “, the woman looked downright sad when she was saying it. “I tried offering him my services, but he just laughed and said that the only payment he needs is my smile. “

Mikasa groaned inside. Not only an idiot, but he talks nonsense too. Smile as a payment. If someone tried offering her that, she would cut his throat on the spot. Feeling that she got all the info she needed, she left to check this good doctor out herself.

The clinic was small, hidden in the poorest part of the town. Made sense that we never heard about it before, she thought to herself, watching the entrance from her spot where she was leaning on the wall. Mikasa wore a black shirt and pants and shaded her face with a wide hat. With the way her body looked, she could easily pass for a man, and she was grateful for that. Seeing skirt made men act incredibly stupid, and then she would be forced to kill someone, and everything would get too messy. Camouflaged like this, she spent the rest of the way watching, examining the people that came and went. It seemed like the whore was telling the truth. The place was frequented by the scum of the city, the lowest of the low. They went in, and left after some time, usually smiling or with a spring to their step. This went on over and over again, and she grew bored rather quickly, but kept her vigil. Her patience was rewarded in the end, because just as the sun was going down, hiding behind the rooftops, the door creaked open again. This time, it was no bum or street worker that came out, but a young man with long brown hair, pulled into a ponytail. He stretched and said something to the woman that emerged after him. This one had piercing blue eyes and blonde hair, and wore a uniform of the royal guard, with a sword and a dagger at her belt. A bodyguard? The gaze of the woman suddenly focused on Mikasa, and she felt her muscles tense and her hand drop to her own dagger, hidden beneath the shirt. Easy, they have no idea who you are, she said to herself. You are just another slacker, leaning on the wall. To strengthen the image, she was trying to create, Mikasa coughed and spat on the ground, shifting into a more comfortable position. When she dared to look back up, they were both gone. It didn’t matter though. She had her prey scouted out, and a plan already formed inside her mind. 

“Hit me. “

Levi put down his teacup, interlacing his fingers and lifting his eyes to look at her.

“Excuse me? “

“I said. Hit me. “

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Why should I do that? “

Mikasa gestured to her face. “I need a bruise. “When the short man didn’t move, she sighed. “I have a plan that will get me close to the princeling, but in the cover story I’ll use I’ll be a woman who was attacked, so I need a proof of that. So, hit me. “

Levi grunted but stood up, pulling back the sleeves from his forearms.

“I’ll try to make it look as authentic as possible. “

Once again navigating through the slums, Mikasa walked as fast as possible, doing her best to avoid bumping into anyone. She was wearing a simple dress this time, the kind most of the poor women wore, and she was already pulling lecherous stares and annoying comments. She did her best to push her breasts up, because no matter what the whore said, Eren was still a man, so he had to like boobs. Plus, she hoped that it will take his eyes away from the other parts of her body. As Levi pointed out, most of the women in the kingdom didn’t have steel cables for muscles. Rounding a last corner, she reached her destination. The small building looked the same as yesterday, dirty walls and windows, the only indication about what’s going on there was a metal Rod of Asclepius hanging next to the door. She breathed in, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Right, she was just attacked. Mikasa forced herself to cry, waiting a moment to let the tears drench her face before opening the wooden doors and going in.

The inside of the clinic very much reflected the outside. It was small, but not dirty for a change, the window letting in a healthy dose of sunlight from the outside. The wall was lined with instruments, metal glistening, while the center of the room was dominated by a massive table, covered by a clean sheet. 

“Hello Miss, how can I help you? “

Her target was sitting on a simple wooden chair, but he stood up when she entered, coming a bit closer and offering his hand. The blonde woman in uniform was leaning on the wall, her eyes quickly scanning Mikasa’s body, searching for weapons. When she didn’t find any, she relaxed a bit, but her posture was still the one of a killer, ready to jump into action any second. Mikasa knew it well, she spent her whole life like that. Remembering why she was here, she sniffed and let a few more tears fall, looking down on the floor. 

“Hey, don’t cry. “A hand appeared in her field of view, offering a handkerchief. When she took it, Eren gently took a hold of her shoulder and maneuvered her into a chair. “Why don’t you calm down and tell us what happened, then we can help you. “

Mikasa blew her nose, nodding and making a show of breathing in and out, pretending to calm herself after a while. “I-I’m s-s-so sorry sir, but I didn’t know where else to go. “She looked up, trying to appear as terrified as possible. “I was attacked! “

Eren’s face grew tightened a bit as he took notice of the bruise on her face. Levi really did a great job with it. It spanned over her jaw, and colored nicely, leaving half of her face black and blue. “What happened? “He asked again. 

And so Mikasa told her story. That she was cleaning up the counter at the inn she was working in when someone tackled her from behind. The attacker groped her, laughing, saying that he will enjoy fucking her, and she got terrified and fought back. With a flash of terror, she realized that it’s the owner, the old creep. She managed to get him off her, but not before he hit her in the face, marking it like this. And now she can’t go back to the inn because the owner just tried to rape her, and she is terrified and doesn’t know what to do. A truly touching story, and Mikasa did an amazing job telling it, taking a few breaks to cry to add authenticity to it. By the time she was finished, Eren’s lips were pressed into a thin line and there was great anger in his blazing green eyes.

“Where’s the bastard? “, he asked, and from the tone of his voice it was rather clear that he didn’t want to go there for a drink.

“P-Please d-don’t hurt him. He took care of me for a long time, he is not that bad. “, Mikasa did her best impression of wounded puppy at Eren and had to hide her grin when she saw him melt right in from of her. He was just a man after all. Although she was surprised, because during her whole monologue he kept his eyes on her face, not once falling to her cleavage. Impressive. 

“All right, if you don’t want us to go talk some sense into him, we won’t. And I think I can help you with the work situation you have. “

“No. “It was the first time the blonde guardswoman spoke, and her voice was about as cold as her eyes. “You can’t keep taking in strays like this, your father said… “ 

But Eren held up a hand to interrupt her. “I know what my father said. But last time I checked, I was the prince, and you were my bodyguard, not the other way around. “They glared at each other. “If I tell you to shut up and obey, you will do just that. Understood? “

She didn’t look pleased with the way the situation ended, but she followed the order and closed her mouth, once again leaning against the wall in silence. Eren’s green gaze swung back at Mikasa. 

“As I was saying, you can come and work at the palace, as a maid or something like that. Would you like that? “

It was a way into the castle, a direct infiltration, a great success. But Mikasa felt lucky tonight, and after seeing the woman guard, she got a different idea. 

“Could I, “, she looked down, trying to look all flustered and embarrassed, because men found it cute. “Could I perhaps guard you, as this girl is? I am pretty good with a sword, I trained in my free time. “

From the looks the two exchanged, they didn’t believe her, but instead of the refusal she expected the prince smiled at her. “Once you come in the palace, I’ll have you tested, and if you are as good as you say, you can be a guard. “, Mikasa was silently celebrating inside, but she almost jumped out of her skin when she felt his fingers touch her face, very gently tracing the outline of the bruise. “Now let’s do something about this, shall we? “

The test was a joke, as expected. After arriving at the gate early in the morning, per Eren’s instructions, she was escorted to the training grounds, where she was told to wait. After about an hour, a very loudly swearing man emerged, and his bloodshot eyes told Mikasa everything she needed to know. He was having a massive hangover.

“You woke me up because of this broad? “, he shouted, squinting his angry eyes at her. “Think you can handle a sword girl? Well, lets see about that. “He handed her a wooden blade, but before doing so he leaned close, whispering “Maybe you should spread your legs for him instead, he already has a woman guard, but you could guard his bed. “He retreated with a chuckle, swinging his own training stick through the air. Mikasa narrowed her eyes. Originally, she wanted to go easy on the man, but she just changed her mind.

The study was both much bigger and cleaner than the clinic, not even taking notice of the rich decorations. The chair that she was offered had soft padding, not the rough wooden surface she was used to. But the man sitting on the other side of the table was the same, and so was the bodyguard leaning once again against a wall. 

“According to Hannes, you are, and I quote, pretty fucking good with a sword. “, Eren smiled at her over the piece of furniture. “Still want to join my guard? “

“Yes, my prince. “

Eren shook his head.

“Now that we will spend a lot of time together, please, call me Eren. “, he jerked his thumb towards the brooding woman. “And that’s Annie. We are both looking forward to working with you. “

Kenny laughed when she told them the story. Levi didn’t, but he was impressed by her actions, she could tell. And honestly, she was pretty damn proud of herself. She just got at arm’s length to her prey, and she was allowed, no, not only allowed, literally required to be armed in his presence. He was already dead, all she had to do was pick a time, and the job would be done. The prince didn’t carry a weapon himself, entrusting his security to his guards. And yes, she would have to deal with the blonde after slitting his throat, but she was sure that she can handle her. 

“A pure fucking genius. “, Kenny shouted, raising his glass, “Let’s drink to Mikasa Ackerman, who will soon be known as an assassin of royal blood! “He drained it, slamming it on the table. “And we will be fucking rich! “

Mikasa usually didn’t drink, but she allowed herself to take a sip, the liquid burning down her throat. Tonight, they celebrate. Tomorrow she finishes the job. 

She didn’t.

Early in the morning, she was roused from her bunk in the barracks by Annie, and the three of them made their way to the clinic. There, they spent the whole day doing exactly what she would never believe a member of the royal family would ever do. Healing people. Dirtying his hands with the peasants, attending to their needs. She had to help him a number of times, holding down a thrashing man while he cut his leg, because it was infected with a rot, taking care of a baby while he examined the mother, and other things she never done before. Honestly, there was just too much to do to even think about killing him, and when they finally returned, she fell facedown back to her bunk and slept until being woken by Annie again. And the cycle repeated. A week passed by. The more she got to know him, the more she was surprised by who Eren was. He truly was kind and did everything for free, refusing any sort of payment. He always kept his cool, somehow. It didn’t matter that a man barged in through the door with a dagger in his gut, or a woman came in whose water just broke. With a few quick commands, he set both her and Annie to work while his hands flew over the medicine, picking the right one for the job. Before Mikasa truly realized what was happening, he was pulling the dagger out and stitching the wound, or kneeling between the legs of the mother, telling her to push, that he can see the head of the baby already. And it wasn’t just work. He liked to joke around, both when they walked to the clinic and during their business hours, smiling every time he made Mikasa laugh. She was the only one, Annie’s lips never even twitched. As much as she discovered about the prince, the bodyguard was still a mystery, never saying a word more than she had to. 

A week became a month, and Mikasa still haven’t found time to plot the murder. She could do it anytime, honestly. Just ram the knife in his back and run for it. But something always stayed her hand. I just want to have him for myself, she thought to herself, to really enjoy the kill after working so hard for it. Yeah, that must be it, there is no other possible reason why he would still live. A solution for her trouble came one evening at random. They were going back after a day at the clinic, reaching the usual place where Mikasa left for the barracks while Annie and Eren went on. 

“Mikasa, would you, ehm.. “, he looked embarrassed for some reason, scratching the back of his head, “Would you come with me? Please? “, she nodded, puzzled, but when Annie went to follow them Eren held out his hand. “I won’t be needing your services anymore today, thank you. “The blonde’s gaze flicked to Mikasa and back to Eren, her face darkening. 

“I can’t leave you alone with an armed stranger, prince, you know that. “

“She is my guard as much as you are, and I trust her with my life. If you want, you can complain to my father in the morning, but for now, please leave. “

Annie looked ready to continue arguing but he turned his back to her, walking away at a brisk pace, making Mikasa almost run to catch up. For some time, she was sure that the other girl will follow, but when she looked over her shoulder, she was already gone. Was it really going to be this easy?

“Where are we going? “, she asked, as they passed the entrance to the prince’s quarters.

“Wait and see. “, he grinned at her, but didn’t offer any more explanation. 

They walked and climbed up stairs until they reached the top floor, but Eren didn’t stop there. With great agility, he pulled himself to the roof, and turned to help Mikasa only to see that she was already standing next to him. He smiled and shook his head, as they made their way over the rooftop, until they came to a flat area, overlooking the city. Someone had left things there, a blanket and a covered basket, but just as she was about to ask, she realized that Eren must have been the one who prepared it. He sat down, gesturing for her to do the same. When she followed, Mikasa felt her cheeks color. This, this looked suspiciously like a date. She never was on one, her lifestyle was far from romantic. Thing closest to this that she had done was picking up targets in a bar, but that was different. There she had to wiggle her hips and push her tits up, making the mark follow her somewhere isolated where she could slit his throat undisturbed. She didn’t wear anything sexy this time around, just the classic uniform and the coldness of the evening air didn’t make her all that eager to take it off. So instead, she unbuckled the sword and dagger from her belt, putting them in easy reach as she stretched her legs, waiting for Eren’s next move. Which was uncovering the basket and pulling out a bottle of wine.

“Want a drink? “, he asked, the easy smile never leaving his lips.

They drank and ate and talked. Well, she mostly listened while he talked, because she couldn’t tell him about herself, for obvious reasons. So, she sat in silence, while he told her about his childhood, teenage years. How he always argued with his father, while his mother supported him in his chosen path. He told her that he was always hot headed and brash, and she giggled and said that she doesn’t believe it. The stars were out, she noticed. The night has gotten rather cold, and she couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her body. 

“Are you cold? “, he asked, and before she could answer, he pulled the scarf from his neck and wrapped It around her, it was red, and very soft. “This is warm, right? “ 

Bold from the wine, Eren didn’t stop there, but reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her a bit closer. Mikasa didn’t know what to do. Here he was, alone, with her, and she had the dagger in easy reach. It would be perfect to kill him here, they probably wouldn’t find the body until morning, which gave her plenty of time to get out of the castle. But, for reasons she couldn’t explain, she didn’t grab the weapon, but leaned her head on his shoulder instead. 

“There is one thing I wanted to tell you. “

She hummed in acknowledgment, waiting for him to continue. 

“I am…. I am engaged. “

Her head shot up, and she stared at him, surprised. Partly because of what he told her, of course, but mostly shocked by herself, because for some reason her heart ached when he said it. 

“It was done when I was a kid, I didn’t really have a say in it. “, he continued, too embarrassed to look at her. But he kept the hand around her shoulders. “Her name is Historia, and she is a great girl, but I… but I don’t love her. “he looked up, offering Mikasa a sad smile. “And I know that she doesn’t love me either. “

“How can you know that? “, she asked, still puzzled by why she felt like crying all of sudden. “You are a great guy, kind and smart, the type that girls dream about. “

He chuckled at that. “You do have a great opinion on me, thank you. “She felt her cheeks redden, quickly hiding her face in the scarf he gave her. “But the point is, I know that Historia doesn’t love me, because she… uhm... doesn’t like men. “

She stared at him.

“She prefers women. “

Still silent.

“She loves women. “ 

Mikasa’s lips made a little “Oh. “, when she finally realized what is he talking about. He sighed, looking away from her. But she was the bold one now, reaching out and taking hold of his chin, making him look at her. “Eren. “, she whispered, “Why are you telling me all this? “

His eyes darted all over her face, before settling on her own, gray ones. He took a deep breath. 

“Because I love you. “

His gaze flickered down to her lips before going back up.

“Could I…. Can I kiss you? “

Sometimes he talked too much. Mikasa used her grip on his chin to pull him closer as she pushed her lips on his, her nose brushing against his. Sometimes it was better to take action. 

Mikasa hated kissing. Every kiss she ever received was from her target, and it usually meant letting him prove his dominance by opening her mouth and letting his tongue wander inside. It was disgusting, and she was much happier letting them slobber all over her neck, moaning and sighing, pretending that she loves it so very much. But this, this was different. Eren wasn’t trying to take possession of her, his lips were soft and gentle. It was an offering of himself, and he asked only her in return, a fair trade. Mikasa was the one who wanted more in the end, opening his mouth and putting her tongue to work. It surprised him, but he soon replied with his own efforts, and the night didn’t seem so cold anymore. When his lips found a way to her neck, the little bites made her moan, this time no acting was required on her part. To wipe that satisfied smirk from his face, she attacked, sucking a mark of her own into his neck, very pleased with herself. Eren wasn’t the one to be bested however, and before she realized it his teeth sank into her skin with great care, marking her as well. 

“That’s why I gave you the scarf. “, he grinned at her when she protested, very weakly, “Now you can use it cover it all up. “ 

When they finally took a breather, her neck bore several marks, but she didn’t really care. They lay on the blanket, her head resting on his chest, while he stroked her hair, looking up at the stars. She didn’t even realize she is falling asleep, until he gently shook her shoulder to wake her. Despite her embarrassed protests, he escorted her all the way to the barracks, where he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, smiling.

“See you tomorrow, Mikasa. “

The letter was a harsh awakening. She had no idea how it found its way to her pillow but seeing Kenny’s crude handwriting made her heart drop from the cloud it was on right now. It was just one word. Meeting. Problem was, she had no time. Her whole days were occupied by the clinic with Eren, and she didn’t really feel like sneaking out in the middle of the night. Instead, she murmured that she needs to take the rest of the day off when they were in the rundown building again. To her surprise, Eren agreed immediately, saying that she can take as much time as she needs. 

“What the fuck is taking this long. “, Kenny didn’t shout, but his quiet voice resonated with enough threat to make the hand automatically grip the handle of her sword. “A month. A fucking month, and he is still not dead. “

She frowned at him. “I’m not rushing it anywhere. The clients didn’t give us a limit, did they? “

“They didn’t, but they might wonder why the man they paid to be killed is still alive month after the agreement. “, out of nowhere, he reached out and grabbed Mikasa’s wrist, exposing the small black tattoo there. “This! You know what this is right? “

She snarled at him, freeing her hand with a tug. “Of course, I do. It’s the Ackerman mark, we all have it. You, me, Levi. “

He nodded. “It’s the proof that you belong to the family of best assassins in the world. People shit their pants when they see the mark, those who knows what it means. “He sat back in his chair again. “So, use it, to remind yourself what you are. You are no princess, you are a murderer, so act like it. And if you need to fuck him before killing him, I don’t care, but I want him dead. “

“I don’t need to fuck him “, she gritted through her teeth, seriously wanting to take her dagger and ram it into the old fucker’s neck.

“Easy now. “, Levi stepped in, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Mikasa never failed a mission before, she is not going to start now. Am I right brat? “

She shook his hand off, stomping out of the door. 

“Hey, you okay? “, Eren’s voice cut into her brooding, making her stop. It was an evening again, and they just arrived back at the castle from the clinic. Looking around, she noticed that Annie was somehow gone already, and the prince was looking at her with concern in his eyes. “You seem off, ever since you came back from your leave. “

She forced herself to smile, but in her head, she quickly searched for an explanation. Of course she was off. For the first time in her life, she was kissed by someone and thoroughly enjoyed it, and was very much looking forward to repeating the experience. Yet now she was forced to plot a way to kill the very man whose lips brought her such joy. 

“I was just thinking, “, she stalled, “why are you doing all this? The clinic, the treatment, everything. What’s your goal? “

She expected him to say some completely basic reason. Because he wanted to help people. Because he cared about his future subjects. Reasons she would call idiotic just a month back. But he didn’t. Instead, his face grew a bit more serious.

“I think it’s time for you to meet someone, the last part of my story I didn’t tell you. “

The door creaked open, letting them enter a dark room. It was evening, but the curtains were still drawn shut, letting the candles being the only source of light. The walls were packed with books, piles of them everywhere, either neatly stacked or chaotically lying around. 

“Eren? Is that you? “, a weak voice called out, coming out from the bed in the corner. There was a man sitting there, she realized when her vision adjusted. Unlike the prince, he was paper thin and pale, blond hair falling around his face. 

“Hey buddy. “, Eren came closer to him, sitting down at the edge of the bed. “I brought someone to see you. “

The youth’s eyes focused on Mikasa’s face, and while his body seemed frail, the gaze he fixed her with was strong. “So this is the girl you can’t stop talking about. “, he said, “I can see why. “

“Yep, that’s her. This is Mikasa. Mikasa, this is my best friend, Armin. “

She licked her lips, coming a bit closer to sit next to him on the bed. “You never told me about him before. “, she said.

“I don’t usually tell people about him, “, he looked at her, and the love and affection she could see in his eyes made her feel sick. Not because he truly seemed like that he loved her, but because every second she was betraying him more and more. “But I feel like I can trust you. “

If he only knew.

“You asked why I am doing what I’m doing, well, this is why. “ , he reached out to squeeze the pale man’s hand, his smile not failing for a second. “Me and Armin were best friends when we were kids, always together, inseparable. And then he got sick out of nowhere. “, Eren’s face grew hard, as he struggled to find the words, “He is tired all the time, sunlight hurts him, and his bones are unnaturally brittle. Worst thing is, that we have no idea what to do about it. “He looked back at Mikasa. “So that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. I want to experience as many sicknesses as possible, train myself as much as I can, so when I’m king, I’ll find a cure for Armin. “

“Why don’t you do it now? “, she asked softly, “You are a prince. “

“My father… Doesn’t support weakness. “, his expression switched to angry. “I asked him to help me fund a research a number of times, but he always declined, saying that life of one peasant is not worth so much money to him. “

“Hey, stop that. “Armin reached out, squeezing Eren’s shoulder. “We talked about it, the sickness is not going anywhere, I have time. “

“We should let you rest. “, Eren stood up, offering his hand to Mikasa before pulling her to her feet. They said their goodbyes to the sick man before leaving his room, once again alone. The prince looked down, the anger in him dying out for a deep sadness. 

“Hey, “Mikasa spoke before she could stop herself, because for some reason seeing him sad made her sad in return. It made no sense. “Want to go on the roof again? “

The stars looked the same as they did yesterday, thousands and thousands of them on the black sky, illuminating the night. Mikasa looked at them from where she was lying down, once again reclaiming her place on Eren’s chest. 

“Thank you for this. “, he said, and she could feel his voice vibrating in his body. “I needed to take my mind off for a second. “

“My pleasure, “, she smiled, tracing patters on his chest with the tip of her finger. They were both silent for a time, just enjoying each other’s presence, but then Eren started sitting up, rousing her.

“I need to ask you something. “, he said when they were both facing each other. He looked funny, with his hair tussled and his shirt unbuttoned, which was her doing by the way, his neck had so many bruises that it almost looked that she tried strangling him. He didn’t cover them up with anything either. While Mikasa gladly hid the proofs of his affection with the gifted scarf, Eren wore them for all the world to see, not really caring what anyone thought. “There is a ball tomorrow night, and my father wants me to attend. “, he looked at her, his eyes tracing the same lines he followed with his lips just a few minutes ago. “And because Historia is not here, I’m not required to parade with her around, I wanted to ask you… Ask you if you would go. With me. “

Mikasa’s eyes widened a bit. “But I can’t dance! “, that was a lie of course. She was taught how to move on the dancefloor during her training, good enough to pass on most of social occasions. “I have nothing to wear either. “, this one was the truth. She had some dresses hidden away at her room back in the whorehouse, but she didn’t really feel like going there again and facing Kenny’s wrath. 

“That’s fine. “, he said, “I’ll lead you. And I’ll send someone to make you a dress tomorrow, we have plenty of time. Go with me? Please? “

Mikasa sighed. “Okay. I’ll come. “

Eren beamed up, leaning in to kiss her again, conveying his “Thank you” in a much more enjoyable way for them both. 

Mikasa stared at herself in the mirror, trying to control her breathing. The girl looking back at her, she had no idea who it was. Her hair was shiny, her lips were painted red and her cheeks had a little touch of make up on them, making her best features standing out. She was wearing a red dress, cut in a way that did marvels with the curves she had, making her look beautiful. Mikasa was not that girl, there was no way. She never looked so graceful, so pretty, so much like a princess. You are not one, she reminded herself. Looking at her wrist, she saw the white of the bandages she used to cover her tattoo. She had no idea who will attend and didn’t want to risk anyone recognizing the mark on her skin, it was too great of a risk. You are a murderer, she reminded herself. Her fingers slipped beyond the hem of the dress, feeling the handle of the thin knife she bound to her thigh. Tonight. She will finish it tonight. 

The event was as glamorous as you would expect. Flocks of finely dressed people, nobility, high born. Servants in black were finding a way in between, carrying trays of expensive drinks and food, making sure that the guests are entertained. The music was provided by several professionals, handling their instruments with a great skill. Mikasa’s entrance drew a number of murmurs, mostly because of Eren on her arm. When he first saw her in the dress, he lost his voice for a minute, just staring, before remembering himself and murmuring that she looks beautiful. Now here they were, mingling with the richest in the kingdom. Mikasa, who was born on the streets, holding the arm of the crown prince of the whole kingdom. The man that confessed his love to her. The man she is going to kill before the end of the night. She caught a few glimpses of the king and queen, sitting on their thrones at the far end of the room, but Eren didn’t seem all that eager to introduce them. He didn’t hate his father, he told her, but the difference in their way of seeing things simply made it better to avoid each other. The music changed, and before she realized it, they were in the middle of the room with other pairs, with his hands on her hips. 

“Ready? “, he asked, grinning at her. And then they started to move. Eren promised to lead her, and he didn’t let her down. He gently swayed to the rhythm, guiding her along. And she just allowed herself to be led, because all she could see was his face, beaming up every time their eyes met. She just wanted to remember, the way he looked at her now, before the play will be up, before he will realize the mistake he made by trusting her. The music changed again, and he pulled her close, pressing her face on his shoulder as the slower rhythm told them to. Mikasa closed her eyes, breathing in his scent, praying that she can keep the tears from her eyes. Why did her heart hurt so much, she couldn’t tell. She had to act now, before her resolve would completely crumble into nothingness. When the music finally took a break, she quickly pulled Eren away, forcing an excited expression on her face. 

“You want to get out of here? “¸she asked, looking at him in a way that she prayed appeared seductive. 

And he took the bait. “If you want. “, he reached to push some hair out of her face, before pulling her in for a kiss. “I have no objections. “

They sneaked through the castle, hiding every time anyone passed them by, giggling like kids. Mikasa led him back to his room, pulling him along by his hand, doing her best to avoid looking at him. Because every time she saw his eyes, it pushed her closer and closer to the breaking point. She just kissed him when they fell through the doors, to prevent him from seeing her, pushed him until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he sat down. She hiked her dress up, secretly pulling out the knife in the progress, and sat on his lap, circling her hands around his neck. For once though, Eren didn’t wait, instead he reached out and took a hold of her jaw, angling her head and kissing her again. He didn’t stop until he felt something salty and warm on his face, and he pulled back to see that Mikasa was crying. Just as he was about to ask why, he felt a thin sheet of metal press against his neck, and a quick look down confirmed his suspicion. She was holding a knife to his skin. 

It was sloppy. The tears were blurring her vision, she didn’t have a stable position by sitting on his lap, and he still had a hand on her face. He could grip her hair and smash her head against the wood, he could throw her off on the ground, he could do many things to prevent her from killing him. But he didn’t. Mikasa’s victims did a lot of things when she pulled out the knife. They cried for mercy, they fought, they pissed themselves. Eren did none of those. He let go of her jaw, smoothing a few strands of hair out of her face before leaning back, a small smile still glued to his face. They were silent, just looking at each other, with Mikasa crying and holding the blade to his jugular, trying to compose herself. 

“Hey, don’t cry. “, he said, and reached out again to dab her tears away with his sleeve. “You will smear your makeup. “

“Stop. That. “, she choked out, trying hard to hide her emotions behind a wall of anger. But she just couldn’t do it. “I’m going to kill you, do you understand? “, she pressed the knife closer to support her point.

He just shrugged. “I know. “

“Then why don’t you do something? “

“Do what? You are clearly a professional, and you have a blade to my throat. All you have to do is flick your wrist, and I’ll bleed all over my bed. “he shook his head. “If working with sick people taught me one thing, it’s that sometimes death is inevitable. And this looks like one of those situations. “

“You know, Annie will probably laugh once this is all over. “, he continued. Seeing her stunned expression, he went on. “She told me that you are an assassin, the first time you came to us. Said that taking you in is me digging my own grave. Seems like she was right in the end. “

“Why… Why did you take me in? “, her voice was broken, the whispers coming out between the sobs, but she managed to get her point across.

“Because, because I feel like I’ve known you before. And I know that we met just a few weeks back, but when I saw you I just, I had something for you. Then we got to know each other better, and the feeling only grew stronger. “, he reached out, and Mikasa knew that she should stop him, because letting your prey touch you is the dumbest thing you can do. But she didn’t. So he caressed the side of her face, stroking the scar under her eye with his thumb. “It’s foolish, don’t you think? “

With a last remnant of her resolve, she pushed him down, and Eren’s back hit the bed with a thump. She hovered above him, repositioning the knife so the point was right in the hollow of his throat. Push down, do it, said the Kenny inside her head. You’ve done it hundreds of times already, just do it again. Kill him. Do it. 

“Could I maybe, kiss you for the last time? “, he asked out of nowhere, making her grit her teeth as she shook her head. “Denying a dying man his last wish. How cruel. “, Eren sighed, “The only thing I regret is that we won’t spend more time together after all. “, somehow, he still managed to smile at her. “I’ll see you on the other side, Mikasa. “ 

Eren closed his eyes, prepared for the end. Now or never, she said to herself, and moved her hand.

The knife landed on the carpet with a thud. He followed the trajectory of the blade with his eyes, and opened his mouth for some witty comment, but she was having none of it. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, she kissed him, hard, muffling anything he had to say. His hands moved, slowly climbing up her legs until he reached her hips, and she could see the question in his eyes. For the first time in her entire life, Mikasa felt free, with no one controlling her, finally doing what she desired. Right now, there was one thing she wanted for sure. With a strong tug, she tore his shirt open. 

“I could still kill you. “

“Hmmm. “, Eren didn’t feel like answering that, so he just nuzzled her hair, inhaling her scent. 

Mikasa shifted her body into a more comfortable position, yawning. She was lying on his chest just as she did on the roof, but this time around, they were both naked. The night air came in through the window, and with the sweat cooling down it made her shiver. Eren had no more scarfs to offer her, but he wrapped his arm tighter around her waist, hoping that his body heat will suffice. He was a very passionate lover, as she discovered, and he made sure that she enjoyed their love making as much as he did. It left her exhausted and panting, but honestly, she never felt this good in her whole life. 

“There’s about twenty ways I could do it. Right here. Right now. “, she repeated, hoping to get some rise out of him. But all he did was chuckle.

“I don’t doubt it. But right now, I would die as the happiest man alive. “

The room fell into a comfortable silence, as Mikasa decided not to press the issue and sleep instead. But her slumber was interrupted by his voice. 

“What’s going to happen to you? “

“What you mean? “

“Well, you were hired to kill me, right? “, he lifted her hand and pressed his lips against the tattoo on her wrist, “I recognize the Ackerman mark when I see it, me and Armin talked about it when we were kids. “, Eren put her hand back on his chest, right over his beating heart. “And I’m still alive. “

“I’ll handle it. “, she said, confident for once. She wrapped herself around him, hugging his body, leaching on his warmth. “In the morning. “

Kenny looked up when his door flew open, and seeing Mikasa dressed in her assassin blacks, a grin appeared on his face.

“Is it done then? “, he asked, “Is the prince dead? “

“No. “

He stared at her in disbelief, because this was not what he expected. Not in the slightest. 

“Then what are you doing here? “

“I quit. “, she shrugged. “I came for my things. “

“What. The. Fuck. “, Kenny rose from his chair, his face contorting in anger, but before he could do anything, she moved. The punch caught him straight on the nose, making his stagger back as he heard his bone crunch, tears filling his vision. 

“I’m leaving and never coming back. So thank you, for everything, but I’ll be going now. “

The door banged close.

Kenny clutched his nose, his famous calm completely taken away by the actions of his subordinate. He directed his gaze on the other man, who was sitting calmly in his chair, sipping tea. 

“Levi! What the fuck? Go after her! Now! “

The short man set his cup down.

“No. “

“W-What? “

“Here is what is going to happen. We will forget that Mikasa ever existed, forget the contract, anything about the royal family. “he looked at the older man with cold eyes, betraying nothing of his emotions. “And if I ever catch a whiff of you doing something to hurt her or the boy, I’ll gut you myself. “

Kenny Ackerman was never afraid. He stared down rich and poor alike, never flinching, proud and head strong. But now, looking at the man sitting in front of him, he felt cold fingers gripping his stomach.

Mikasa walked with a spring in her step, a small backpack the only thing she took from her old room. It was filled with her personal possessions, and while it wasn’t much, she valued the little trinkets more than anything. Well, until recently, she thought to herself, fingering the red scarf around her neck. Just as she was about to go into the gates, she realized something. With all the help Eren provided, she never had to sneak inside the castle. It was morning, guards everywhere, people watching. It would be dangerous. Foolish. She grinned. Exciting. 

Eren just finished shaving, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He was topless, the droplets of water falling down his body, making it glisten in the morning sun. When a strong hand wrapped around his neck from behind, he panicked for a moment, until he felt familiar lips graze the shell of his ear. 

“Decided to kill me after all? “, he asked, not even trying to hide the smile that spread on his face.

“Yep, I just decided on a different way to do it. “, before he could inquire what his end will be, she dragged her prey over to the bed, pushing him down. Mikasa straddled his waist, grabbing his hands and tying them to the headboard with her scarf, her movements practiced and quick. She pulled down his pants and left him naked just to stand up and strip herself. When they were bare to each other again, she sat back down, a victorious grin on her face.

“I’ve decided to fuck you to death instead. “

He squirmed underneath her, his hands tugging at the scarf, but it was useless. Whatever she had planned, he wasn’t getting out of it. Then again, he didn’t want to anyway. 

Eren fixed Mikasa with his boldest stare, taking a deep breath.

“Do your worst, assassin. “


	8. My kingdom for a knife pt.II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-upload.   
> Rating: M  
> Setting: Medieval AU  
> Prompt: Royal Eremika

The wedding was beautiful. Perfect, really, with a massive attendance and beautiful decorations. The whole castle lived with it, the servants going about their duties did so with a spring in their step and smiles, laughter could be heard in the corridors as the invited guests piled on and soon filled the rooms appointed to them. Now that the ceremony was finally underway, the great chapel was full to the brim with the rich and important, the true high class of the society, all of them watching as the crown prince of the kingdom married his bride. Overall, there was just one problem Mikasa had with the whole occasion. She shuffled in her place in the line of the guards, sighing. She wished that she was the one Eren was marrying. 

In Mikasa’s life, it wasn’t always so bad. She enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the satisfaction when completing a contract, or the respect that was earned by never failing a mark before. Yet until she left that kind of life behind and cut ties with her family, she didn’t know the meaning of true bliss. The months that they had together were the happiest in her life thus far. She was free, no obligation hanging over her head, and they made good use of it. While still spending a lot of time in the clinic, Eren actually took days off, juts so they could spend them together. It was just the two of them, because after about three days Annie requested to be reassigned, because she grew sick of watching them smooch on every corner, as she put it. They took walks together, raced over the open meadows on horseback, made love on the sun-warmed grass with no one but the birds as witnesses, Eren even promised that they will go somewhere far, by a ship, that he will show her the world. It was like a beautiful dream. But there is one problem with dreams. They end. 

Their rude awakening came in the form of a knock on the door, and when Mikasa answered there was a servant in a livery, bowing low and saying that Eren’s lord father, the king, is inviting him to enjoy a late breakfast together. The prince was frowning all the way there, with his pale bodyguard shadowing him, suspicious of what is to come. He and his father didn’t seek each other’s company, they were both perfectly content with pretending that the other one doesn’t exist. But invitation like this, he knew that he can’t refuse. 

King Grisha I. cut an imposing figure. Tall and lean, with gold trimmed glasses sitting on top of his hooked nose, his brown hair and beard sporting strands of silver. The table was huge, as one expects from a king’s, laden with food and flanked by rows of servants and guardsmen, to attend each and every one of their sovereign’s need. Eren took a seat across from his father, and Mikasa stopped in a respectful distance behind him, but close enough to act if any harm threatens her charge. Grisha didn’t even look up from his plate, ignoring his son while snacking on his chosen delicacies. As the silence stretched, Eren realized that his father is waiting for him to start the conversation, and while dreading what will come of it, he knew that he can’t put if off forever.  
He cleared his throat. “Father, you have summoned me? “The king didn’t spare him a glance, picking up a piece of bread and buttering it with long strokes of his knife. Only when he took a bite, chewed and swallowed, he looked up, his piercing gaze focusing on the face of his son.

“Yes I have. “, was all he had to say, before looking back at his plate and picking up the half-eaten slice. Before Eren could inquire about why he has been summoned, the king continued. “Did you enjoy the latest ball? “

The prince’s eyes flicked to Mikasa for a split second before going back to his father. The latest party was the one where she came clear to him, after trying to murder him, of course. “It was, it was fine, thank you for asking. How about you father, did you like it? “

His question, as usual, got ignored. 

“I hope you did, because that was the last event you attended as an unmarried man. “The statement hung in the air, and the only sound was the silent scraping of the butter knife on the bread as Grisha prepared another slice for himself. Eren’s eyes slowly widened as he realized what the hell his father was talking about. 

“I… What do you mean by that? “

The king took another bite. “I think it’s quite clear what I mean. Your engagement has gone on long enough, and now that both you and the princess are in ripe age, both me and king Reiss have agreed that it is high time to consummate it. “, finishing his bread, he took a sip from his wine glass, dabbing the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief. “I won’t be here forever, and I will rest easier knowing that you have an heir, should something happen to you. She is expected to arrive in two days, and the preparations for the wedding are already underway. If everything goes as planned, the marriage will be completed in about a month, two months top. “

The chair rattled as Eren stood up, scraping over the floor before toppling and falling down. “You can’t, I mean, I can’t marry Historia! “

The king arched an eyebrow at him. “Why not? “

“I… “, Eren’s eyes slid over to Mikasa, standing behind him in stunned silence, “I don’t love her… “

Grisha’s rich laughter cut into the room. “I’m not asking you to love her, I’m asking you to marry her and get her pregnant. See the difference? “

The prince looked back at his father and shook his head, defiant. “I won’t do it. “

“And why? “, for the first time, the king’s gaze slid over to Mikasa, “Because you’ve been fucking this Asian whore? “

Eren’s fist hit the table with a crack, as he pointed a shaking finger at his father. “Don’t. Don’t call her a whore. Ever. “Yet Grisha didn’t seem to be phased even a little bit by the outburst. He leaned back in his chair, swirling the wine in his glass as he watched his son’s fuming silently. 

“And why shouldn’t I? From what I heard, you two had been at it like rabbits lately. “, seeing Eren blush, he shook his head, “You keep assuming that I am stupid and blind, my son, but that is hardly the truth. We may not like each other, but you are still my flesh and blood and an heir to the throne. I am keeping my eye on you, never forget that. “, sliding his eyes back at Mikasa, he continued. “Now don’t assume that I am blaming you for, hmmm, relieving yourself, you certainly took your time. When I was your age, women were the first and foremost thing on my mind. And from what I know, the oriental ones are quite something in bed. “He licked his lips and his gaze shifted a bit, and she had to suppress a shudder that ran through her body. This type of look, she knew rather well. It was the look her marks gave her, when she did her best to seduce them, the look of a man that sees her as nothing else then a pretty piece of ass. Needless to say, she hated it with passion. 

“Alas, “, he finally stopped looking at her, shifting his gaze back to his son. “It’s time to grow up, and this marriage is the first step. It’s exactly what we need at the moment, with your brother conquering tribes to the east, we need more military power to support him, and that is exactly what king Reiss is offering. This alliance between our realms will bring nothing but strength and prosperity. “

It took Mikasa by surprise. Eren had a brother? He never told her about him. But the prince ignored that part of the king’s monologue. “I said, that I won’t marry her. So you can stop fantasizing, it’s not going to happen. Ever. “

The monarch sighed. To anyone looking at the scene, he would appear as the benevolent and kind father, tired by the foolishness of youth and brashness of his son, who he still loved dearly. “Eren, please, stop embarrassing yourself. We both know that you will do what I ask in the end. “

“And what if I won’t. “

The atmosphere in the room changed drastically. The king leaned forward, fixing his rebellious offspring with an intense glare. “If you won’t take the carrot, then I’ll beat you with the stick until you take it. You want to know what will happen if you keep resisting? Well, then let me tell you. Frist of all, I’ll cut off any funding to that little clinic of yours, and then I’ll have my men burn it down, just because I want to. Then, I’ll take that sick peasant friend of yours, and I’ll have him thrown out on the streets, where he belongs, and let the rubble tear him apart. And then, “, he looked back at Mikasa, and this time it was downright lecherous, “then I’ll take that bitch of yours, and I’ll train her to be my own personal bedwarmer. She seems to have quite a spirit, so I think I’ll enjoy breaking her very much. “Her knuckles went white from how tightly she gripped the handle of her sword, a wave of repulsion washing over her. Eren just stared at his father, while the old man finished his rant. “Maybe after all this, you will see that obeying my commands is the smartest thing to do. How’s that? “

His question was met with stunned silence, but that was exactly what the monarch expected. After he tapped his finger, a servant immediately went forward and refilled his wine glass, and the king jerked his head to the door. “Get out. And get ready for the wedding, brat. “Eren stood up and headed out, followed by equally bewildered Mikasa, the door clicking close behind them. 

“I didn’t know you had a brother. “, she whispered into the silence, as they walked back towards his quarters, a dark cloud hanging above his head.

“Half-brother. “, he corrected her. “A fruit of my father’s early conquests. I met him once in my whole life because he is constantly at the front, acting as a war chief of our armies. His name is Zeke. “

Mikasa nodded to herself, and neither of them said anything before they reached Eren’s room, and the door sealed them away from the world. Only then, she took a shuddering breath, blinking the tears away from her eyes. “I guess I should go pack then. “  
Eren’s head shot upwards, and he quickly closed the distance between them, taking her chin and forcing her to look at him, shaking his head desperately. “What? No! Of course not! I love you, Mikasa, not her, you know that. “, he cradled the side of her face, sweeping his thumb over her cheek, “I want you, and no marriage will change that. Please, believe me. “She sniffed, and he felt his heart breaking. 

“We can… We can run away, if you want to. Away from all this. “, he said, and she looked up, the water in her eyes glistening, “Just say the word “, he continued, willing his voice to sound brave, “And I will go with you. “

It would destroy them, she knew that. Giving up the clinic, letting the poor who relied on him face his father’s wrath, leaving Armin, who could never go with them because of his sickness, it would tear Eren apart. But he was willing to do that, just because of her, just because he loved her that much. So she just shook her head, but smiled at him through the tears, to show him just how much she appreciated the offer. Eren breathed out, pulling her a bit closer and kissing her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and soon he was covering half of her face in tiny kisses, which made her giggle despite their situation. He pulled back just enough to gaze into her eyes, keeping their foreheads pressed together. His emerald eyes were burning bright into her steel greys.

“We will handle this. Together. “

She nodded, pecking him on the lips.

“Together. “

When princess Historia, the bride to be, arrived, Mikasa really did her best to dislike her. But she just couldn’t. The petite blonde was a force of nature, sweeping through the whole castle and like a spirit of goodwill on a mission to spread joy and smiles everywhere she went. She was shadowed by her handmaiden, a tall freckled girl called Ymir, who, as Eren whispered in her ear the first time she saw her, was Historia’s secret lover. The first thing Historia did, when the four of them were finally alone, was looking Mikasa up and down, nodding to herself.

“So you must be the Asian beauty that my fiancé is so taken with. “, a small impish smile appeared on her face, “I can see why. “

When Mikasa blushed, she giggled, the image of innocence, and gestured her closer. 

“Give me a kiss. “, she said, but didn’t raise her hand, as the black-haired girl expected, tapping her cheek instead. Confused, Mikasa leaned in to kiss her, but just as she neared Historia angled her head and the lips that were supposed to land on her cheek ended up on her own instead. Mikasa pulled back, blinking in surprise, and when she turned she saw both Ymir and Eren laughing, which made her cheeks color red even more. She really was a delight, there was no other way of putting it. She and Eren talked in length about his clinic, and she described her own pet project, an orphanage. 

“I dream of adopting a kid myself, one day. “, she said, leaning into her much taller lover, “That will be the day. “

“Your father wouldn’t take those news well, “, Eren frowned from where he was lying, his head cradled in Mikasa’s lap. 

“No, he wouldn’t. “, she sighed, her merry façade cracking for a moment. “I hope you won’t be angry with me, Eren, but I’m really not looking forward to the wedding. “

“Yea, neither am I. “, he replied, “But what can we do? “

The silence was his answer.

The day of the wedding grew closer and closer, the march of time unstoppable, as it usually was. And no matter how much she tried to sleep it off, drink it off or fuck it off, it hanged over her like a dark cloud, shadowing her days, reminding her of what’s to come. You can’t keep him, taunted the white banners being spread everywhere, the couches full of guests rolling in and the never-ending activity of servants and cooks. And she watched, silently, as was her duty, watched as Eren picked out his wedding suit, watched as Historia joked around with the bakers, describing her ideal wedding cake, not able to do anything. Ymir had similar problem, she could tell. While she put on a brave face for her tiny girlfriend, when she thought no one was looking her eyes grew hard and lips pressed into a thin line. It wasn’t easy. 

The night before the wedding, she couldn’t handle it anymore. She tied Eren down, bit him, raked her nails down his body, leaving angry red welts behind. Anything to mark him, to prove that she was there, that this is her conquest. “You are mine. “, she whispered in his ear, while her hands pressed against his throat, feeling the blood quicken underneath her fingers. “Mine. “And he didn’t complain, not even once, just whispering that he belongs to her, that there will never be anyone else. But for all the promises made in the dead of the night, the morning still came with the terrifying clarity of reality. 

So here she was, just another uniform in a long line, watching, as the love of her life slid a ring on the blonde’s finger. When he extended his hand, so she could do the same, the sleeve of his suit pulled back a bit, revealing a patch of red skin, where the rope burned into his wrist last night. Mikasa could hear a few whispers from the crowd and had to hide the satisfied smirk of her own, knowing exactly how that happened. Yet the smile died on her face, when she heard the priest declare the marriage as completed, saying that the groom can kiss the bride now. The quick peck the two of them shared lacked any emotion, but the cheers that went up from the crowed were deafening. Mikasa could see Eren looking at her, the guilt burning in his face, and had to hide in the scarf. It hurt.

The feast was about as great as one would expect from a wedding of this importance. Beer and wine flowed freely, and the tables were creaking under the weight of the food, making sure that every whim of the guests is satisfied. As the evening progressed, more and more guests were getting intoxicated, and the music grew louder, the feast turning into a proper party for once. The king himself seemed to be amused, his wine goblet never empty, and he was laughing heartily at something Historia’s father, king Reiss said. Mikasa was there as a guard, so she wasn’t allowed to partake, but she didn’t want to anyway. As she was making a round, someone grabbed her from behind, a hand sneaking around her waist. She turned, more than happy to punch the offender in the face, but she noticed the blaze of green sitting in the familiar face, which stunned her enough for Eren to lean close and kiss her, right here and there. The push of his lips on hers was welcome, especially after a day like this, and she savored it for a second, before she realized that they are literally standing in the middle of the feast which was celebrating Eren’s marriage. She pushed him away, and he swayed on his feet. Drunk. Of course. 

“Oh come on baby, don’t be like that. “he laughed, making the move for her again. She took a step back, chewing her bottom lip, deciding what to do. As he tried again, she punched him in the gut, hard enough to knock the wind out of him, and when he doubled over she grabbed his elbow. 

“Are you feeling well, my prince? Perhaps a breath of fresh air will do you good. “, she said as she pulled him out of the hall and into the coldness of the night, hoping that it will clear his head. She let him lean on the railing, crossed her arms on her chest, while he breathed heavily, gulping in the cold air. They remained like this for some time, even when his breathing was normal again, and he just stared into the night, silent. 

“I’m sorry. “, he finally said. 

“It’s okay, “, she whispered, “at least we have the worst behind us. “

He laughed, but there was no mirth in it. “You think so? “When he saw her looking at him with her eyebrows drawn together in question, he shook his head. “The wedding night. That is still in front of me. “

“Oh. “

“Yeah. “

Eren took a deep breath. “I guess I should go. To do my duty. “, the words tasted sour as they left his mouth. Out of nowhere, Mikasa came closer, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. He tasted like wine, she noticed with a smirk. She gently pushed him away.

“Go. And come back to me. “

He stood a bit straighter at that, going back to the door just to look over his shoulder, seeing her dark silhouette against the night. “I’ll think about you anyway, otherwise I won’t get the job done. “, she laughed at that, and he winked at her before going through the opening back in the warm and loud noises of celebration still in full swing.

Everybody laughed and shouted lewd comments as he took Historia’s hand and pulled her behind him, fully intent on finishing this as fast as he could. She had a smile frozen on her lips, but her eyes were scared. She will not enjoy this either, he realized, feeling a pang of guilt. He was so focused on his own sacrifice that he didn’t even realize that it’s the same, if not worse for her. She wasn’t even attracted to his gender as a whole. By the time they reached the bedroom, she was shaking lightly, and Eren gritted his teeth when he imagined what is to come. 

“You…want a drink? “, he asked when they stopped, and she nodded eagerly. Someone placed a full bottle of wine on the nightstand, alongside two glasses, so he filled one and gave it to her, offering her an encouraging smile. She took it and sat down, smoothing her hand over the bedding. For once being completely clueless about what to say, Eren sat down next to her, and waited. Historia sipped her drink in silence, looking everywhere but at him. 

“I guess we should start. “, she said, setting her glass down, and finally directing her gaze towards him. 

“What, what do you want me to do? “, he asked, uncertain about how to begin their activities. Well, of course he knew what the end product was, but getting there, that was a difficult route. With Mikasa it always just somehow happened, and she took the lead more often than not, but this, this felt staged, like a game in which they were simply actors, required to play their roles, while the audience would boo them out if they diverted from the script. 

“You can take your shirt off, for starters. “, her shy voice brought him back to reality.

“Oh right. “, Eren pulled the cloth over his head, but as soon as he discarded it on the ground, she started giggling.

“Oh my god. “, she said, tracing the scratches and bites on his skin with the tips of her fingers, “What are those? Did you wrestle a bear? “

“More or less. “, he smiled back, but then she looked up and he realized just how close they were sitting now, her breath fanning over his features. There is no other way, he reminded himself, closed his eyes and kissed her. He tried imagining Mikasa sitting there on the bed with him, to get in the mood, but it was just impossible. Historia was just way too different, the taste, the feel of it, everything. Opening his eyes proved to be the biggest mistake, because when he saw her she looked like she’s doing her best not to puke into his mouth. Eren pulled back with a sigh.

“This feels wrong. “, he said. “I feel like kissing my sister. “

“You don’t have a sister. “, she pointed out, which brought a small smile to his lips. “But I feel the same. “

“Wouldn’t you like kissing your sister? “, he teased, trying to ease the mood, and she punched him in the shoulder, but had a smile on her face as well.

They sat in silence again, not touching, the awkwardness of it all overwhelming. It the end, she let out a breathy laugh.

“Well, this is getting us nowhere. “, with a determined move, she started tugging at her clothes, dropping them carelessly on the floor. When she got rid of almost everything, Eren averted his gaze, blushing, but she ignored him as much as she ignored her own need to cover herself as fast as possible. With the last of her garments gone, she laid down. “Come on. “, she said, willing her voice to stop shaking so much. “Let’s get this over with. “

With gritting teeth, Eren followed her, propping himself over her small frame on his arms, looking down at her flushed face. She wasn’t looking at him, while her hands were instinctively covering as much of her as possible, her whole body shivering as if she was cold. 

“Hey. Hisu, look at me. “, he said, using her nickname in hopes that it will make her smile, but she just shook her head, refusing to do so. Eren reached out, tenderly touching her shoulder, hoping to do something, anything to make it easier for her, but as soon as he touched her skin, her whole body jolted away from the touch and a small scared gasp escaped her lips. That was when he decided. No. He is not doing this. Eren made the attempt to move away, but her hand grabbed his arm, nails biting into the skin painfully as she gripped him with strength that defied her petite build. 

“Eren, “, she said, finally looking at him, her eyes wide. “We have to. “

“No. I won’t. “, he pulled the arm from her grasp, gently but firmly, and sat back down on the bed, facing away from her nakedness. “I can’t do this Hisu, not to you, not to anyone. “Eren bent down and plucked the discarded shirt from the ground, handing it over to her. After a muffled “Thank you. “and the sound of cloth sliding over skin, she moved to sit next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“What are we going to do? “, she asked, her voice completely exhausted.

“I don’t know. “, he answered truthfully. After a few moments of silence, he kissed the top of her head, and rubbed her shoulder, hoping to soothe her. “Come on, let’s go to sleep. No use sitting in the dark. “

She yawned and nodded, and they both laid down, in a respectful distance from each other, whispering their good nights and closing their eyes, hoping that the night will be over as soon as possible. 

Mikasa attacked again, her sword hitting the training dummy with a thump before bouncing away. She didn’t know what she was doing here, but then again, there really was nowhere else to go. She couldn’t stay at the feast, watching the drunks groping the serving girls, so after Eren went back inside, to fulfill his father’s wishes, she just left, and aimless wandering got her here. Here it all began, she thought to herself, she beat up Hannes here, and earned her right to carry a sword in the prince’s presence as his guard, which spiraled into whatever was happening now. She gritted her teeth, hitting the dummy again and again, doing her best to imagine King Grisha’s face on it. 

“What did the strawman do to you? “, asked a voice behind her, making her spin and drop into a fighting stance, blade held high. She was met with an unimpressed look from Annie’s cold blue eyes, the blonde leaning on the wall behind her with the same pose Mikasa remembered from the first time she saw her. Gods, it felt like hundred years has passed since then. 

“Just training. “, she shrugged, letting the sword slide back into the sheath at her hip. 

“Right. “, Annie’s eyes scanned over the raven-haired girl’s face, not betraying anything. “Guess it doesn’t feel very good, watching him marry another woman. “

“It doesn’t. “ 

Annie arched an eyebrow. “That’s all you have to say? “

“What am I supposed to say? That I’m angry, that it’s happening? Then I would much prefer if he never was forced to do it? What? What do you want me to say? “, the sword slammed into the dummy with renewed vigor, while Mikasa breathed hard, trying to control her outburst of anger.

“You know, you can be angry all you want, but in the end, it boils down to just one question. “

Mikasa looked at the blonde, query in her eyes.

“He is married to her, and the king will surely want an heir to cement the alliance, so she will bear him children. “, Annie pushed herself from the wall, coming closer, her gaze never leaving Mikasa’s, “The question is, do you love him enough to stand by him and watch this all happen? Are you willing to watch him pretending to have a happy marriage with her, just to have him sneak into your bed at night? Do you love him that much? “

Mikasa dropped her gaze to the ground, feeling her cheeks burning with the silent rage. But she already knew the answer. “I do. “, she whispered.

“Well, then you have it bad. “, Annie put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it supportively. “Come on, let’s get a drink. “

With a sigh, Mikasa followed the blonde out of the training yard, hoping that whatever they will drink will dull her senses into a sweet oblivion. 

Eren woke early in the morning, with Historia still sleeping, facing away from him, curled into a ball. He dressed in silence, making sure not to wake her as he left the bedroom. He had no idea where to look for his bodyguard, but he desperately needed her. The castle was still dead, only servants going around, the nobles just too drunk to be up this early. He checked the training yard, but she wasn’t there, neither in her bunk in the barracks. Just as he was about to give up, he noticed Annie, walking with a sway in her step, holding an empty bottle in her hand. 

“Hey, have you seen Mikasa? “, he asked. She turned to him, looked him up and down, before taking a gulp from her bottle and wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

“She’s sleeping in your bed, lost it after just few glasses. “, Annie frowned, “She is a lightweight. “

As surprised as Eren was to see that his former bodyguard was drinking with his new one, he really just wanted to see her, and now that he noticed the state Annie was in, he also wanted to make sure that she’s okay. Taking the steps by two, he barged into his room, just to kick an empty bottle that someone left by the door, and it clang over the floor. There was a groan, and a shape turned over on the bed, a hand reaching out to stick a middle finger at him.

“Whoever you are, just… just fuck off. “, Mikasa groaned again, and her voice became muffled as she pressed her face into the pillow. “My head hurts. “

Eren crossed the distance, sitting down on the bed, and put a hand on her back. “Hey baby, you okay? “There was a flash of grey as she looked up. Noticing who it is, she sat up, and swayed, but when he moved to help her, she pushed him away.

“How did you enjoy fucking the princess? “, she asked, malice dripping from every word.

“Oh come on, you know I didn’t want to. “

“Did you? “

“Mikasa please… “, he moved to hug her, but she pushed him again, hard enough that he fell on the ground. That’s when he noticed the tears in her eyes.

“Did you? Did you enjoy fucking her? Or did you have to think about me to get your cock hard? “, the words were coming out in syllables broken by sobs, her whole body shaking. Eren stood up, and hugged her again, and while she tried pushing him away, it lacked the strength and the “Get off me. “, was muffled by his shirt as she buried her head in his chest. 

“I’m sorry. “, was all that he said as he held her, rocking forward and back.

He waited until she stopped crying, before he leaned back and swiped the remaining tears away with his thumbs. “Mikasa, we didn’t do it. I couldn’t force myself on her. “Silence followed his statement, as she stared at him. 

“You… Didn’t? “

He shook his head.

“But, what about the king? He won’t like it. “

Eren’s face twisted a bit, when he remembered why this marriage was even a thing in the first place. But after seeing Historia so scared of him, of his touch, he was adamant about not following his father’s wishes to the letter.

“We will figure something out. “, he smiled at her, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Together. “

She smiled back at him, and it warmed him inside and out.

“Together. “

A month went by. Then another one. And while keeping the illusion of the marriage could be tedious at times, overall it wasn’t so bad. Sure, he had to spend time with her, but since they were friends, it was okay. So Mikasa watched from her spot as a bodyguard as they strolled through the castle parks, shadowed by her and Ymir, guarded them while they attended state dinners and parties, but any time that they were alone and no one was watching, they let go of each other, laughing at the absurdity of it all. But they were hardly free of their demons. As Eren confessed to Mikasa, one night when he was resting his head on her chest, their naked bodies tangled together, he feared the day his father confronts him about the way his marriage was handled. 

“Every time I underestimated him, it came back to haunt me. “, he said, squeezing his lover a bit tighter in his arms. Mikasa had no answer, so she kissed the top of his head instead, and remained silent. 

As Eren predicted, the day came.

The knock on the door to the prince’s room was rapid, and he untangled himself from the arms of his bodyguard to pull some trousers on and open the door, just to be hit by a cannonball made of blonde hair, teary blue eyes and small body. 

“Eren, they, they have her! He said… He said that they will torture her! “, Historia was shaking in panic, tears streaming down her face and she squeezed his waist hard, drenching his shirt. “Please, you have to help me. “  
Only after a few moments she calmed herself enough to sit down. She gulped down a glass of water, and cleaned her face, before telling her story, but the shaking of her body never stopped. She and Ymir were sleeping peacefully, when someone banged at their door. When she answered it, they were greeted by a squad of guards who promptly escorted them to her father, where she had to leave Ymir behind. 

“He…He asked why I am not pregnant yet. And I said that we are trying, but it’s just not happening. And then… “she took a deep breath, “That’s when he showed me the white sheet. He asked, that if we are indeed trying, then why there isn’t blood on the bedding from our wedding night. And then… “

“Its okay. Take your time. “, Eren reached out to squeeze her hand, trying to offer his support, because the girl clearly needed it right now. 

“So… He said that we are clearly not trying hard enough, and that we need some sort of motivation. He said… He said… “, the tears came again, as the petite girl couldn’t hold them in anymore, “He said that his soldiers took Ymir, and that he will keep her in prison, and torture her every day until I get pregnant. “, she looked up, the very image of sadness and suffering, “Eren, what are we going to do. “

He was silent, not knowing what to answer, and it was Mikasa who broke the silence first.

“What will you do? Well, that’s easy. You two will fuck, until she gets pregnant and Ymir is released. What else? “

Eren looked up to her grey eyes, shaking his head. “I told you, it’s not that easy. “

That’s when she slapped him.

The hit was hard enough to throw him off the chair, and he fell on the floor, clutching the side of his face.

“Not easy? “, she came closer and crouched over his fallen form, grabbing him by the hair and yanking his head to her. “How is it not easy? Ymir is getting tortured, every fucking day, until you two pull your heads out of your asses and finally do what must be done. “, she pointed a shaking finger at Historia, who sat in stunned silence, “Do you love her? “, when the blonde nodded, she frowned at her “Then why are you acting like your cunt is worth her suffering? What do you want to have returned to you. Ymir? Or some broken husk who used to be her, with torn skin and cracked bones. “She let go of Eren and stood up, pacing back and forward. “You two just don’t understand what a torturer can do to a body. I know, I’ve done these things myself. “She stopped and looked at them, angry and helpless at the same time. “You have to do it, there is no other way. “

“I said, “, Eren picked himself from the floor, and straightened, looking her right in the eyes, “I won’t do it, not like this. Not like I feel that I’m basically raping her. “, he didn’t find the courage to look at Historia.

“Then what? What do you suggest? “, Mikasa asked, fed up with her lover’s stubbornness.

His eyes flicked from her to his wife and back, and he licked his lips, nervous. “I might have an idea, but you won’t like it. “

She shrugged. “We don’t really have many options, so spill it. “

“Well, you are a woman, right? “, she looked at him like he was an idiot before nodding. “And, “his gaze creeped over to Historia, “You like women, right? In bed I mean. “. The blonde nodded too, confused as much as the raven. “So you could, you know, help us get the job done? “Eren could feel his ears burning as the two girls exchanged looks, before realization dawned at their faces. “Hey, I’m not saying it’s the best possible solution, but I didn’t think of anything else. “  
Mikasa was blushing too, hiding her face in her scarf, as usual when she was embarrassed. “I… I could do that. If Historia agrees, of course. “

“It will definitely be better then just me and Eren. “, the blonde took a deep breath, “We can try, letting Ymir suffer a day longer then I have to breaks my heart. “

“All right then, lets try it. Tonight. The sooner the better. “, Eren’s proposition was met with nods from both, and Historia stood, saying that she should prepare before leaving. 

“Guess we should, get cleaned up. “, the prince said, feeling awkward now that he was alone with Mikasa after she accepted his ridiculous idea. She just laughed.

“You know, this is so absurd that it’s actually funny in the end. “

He couldn’t help but agree with her. 

When the night came, and they made their way towards Historia’s quarters, Eren could help but feel that his plan is incredibly stupid in the end. Mikasa didn’t say anything, shadowing him as usual, silent and beautiful in the moonlight. He stopped before the door, turning to face her.

“You sure about this? “, he asked, willing to give her a way out. 

She just closed the distance between them, angling her head and kissing him slowly, before pulling back and winking. “Don’t be so scared, we might enjoy it in the end. “

The bedroom was spacious, with a huge bed and a fireplace, where the wood burned nicely, lighting up the surroundings. There was wine on the table, Eren noticed, a lot of wine, and a fine carpet covered the floor. Historia was sitting close to the fire, staring into it, but when they entered she stood and smiled.

“I tried to make it as romantic as possible. “, she said, her hand mindlessly coming up to rake through her hair. “I hope you like it. “

“It’s lovely. “, Mikasa spoke first, smiling and hugging the girl before going over to the table and grabbing two bottles of wine. She made her way in front of the fireplace and sat down, stretching her legs. “Come on. “, she gestured them to come closer, “Sit, let’s talk. “

And somehow, they managed to forget the problems they had, if only for a time. They sat in front of the fire, talked, laughed and drank, ignoring the trouble outside of the room. As the night progressed, Eren could feel himself relaxing more and more, the duty that they came to fulfil just slipping his mind. When the fire almost burned out, Mikasa stood up, and crossed the distance to Historia, kneeling next to her and sliding a hand into the thick of her hair. The shorter woman watched, hypnotized, as she inched her face closer and closer, until their lips pressed together. This time, she didn’t shake, or jolt at the touch, but leaned into the kiss, her hands pulling at Mikasa’s shirt. Satisfied, the taller girl stood up, and slowly pulled the blonde after her, leading her to the bed. She gestured for Eren to follow, before smoothing a strand of hair out of the petite woman’s face.

“Let’s have some fun. “, she looked over at Eren, and her smile only widened. “Together. “

It was still awkward, and in the end both Eren and Historia surrendered to Mikasa, who somehow kept her cool and followed her lead. Yet it got the job done. After hours, when the sun was already peeking over the mountains, and Eren was lying between the two of them, completely exhausted, he wondered if Mikasa wasn’t the one to enjoy the night the most out of the three of them. She certainly was the most vocal one. 

It took a few more tries, usually after a few weeks to see if the seed took root, as Mikasa called it, smirking smugly, but in the end, Historia got pregnant. Her father was a lot of things, but he was not a liar, so as soon as a medic confirmed her state, Ymir was released. She was a lot paler then she used to be, and fidgety, but she could recover, Eren was sure of it. 

“I’m sorry. “, he said, when the two of them had a moment together, with no one else in hearing distance. Ymir looked up, and when she saw he was serious she barked out a laugh. 

“Sorry? Sorry for what, saving my life? “, she shook her head. “You had no idea how terrible it was, writhing in pain every day, not sure which will be your last one, when they will just decide to end it all. I’m grateful, Eren, not angry. “

“What about the child. “, he asked.

“Well, Hisu always wanted a kid. Now she won’t have to adopt one. “

Eren couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Yea, I guess you are right. “

The following months went by in a flash, with the petite woman growing rounder and bigger every day. When the day came, he was there, holding her hand, while the midwife pulled out a screaming and bloodied newborn, smiling and saying that he has a healthy son. 

“So, what now. “, he asked, when they were sitting in her room a day after, while she cradled the baby in her arms. 

“You don’t have to worry, Eren. “, she smiled at him before dropping her eyes back to the bundle, “I’ll be a good mother. I… I can’t love you, but I can love him. “

And honestly, that’s all he could ask of her. 

The death of king Grisha few years later was hardly a surprise to his closest circle and family. He was old, and they could see the great man slowly decaying. It didn’t take long before he couldn’t even leave his own bed, and he stated himself that he is waiting for his death as a redemption. In his last moments, he summoned his son to his side.

“I hope that you don’t hate me, Eren. All I did. “, a violent coughing fit made him pause, “All I did, I did to make you stronger. Because life, my son, life is brutal and evil, and the sooner you learned that, the better king you will be. “

“I... I don’t hate you. “Eren looked his dying father in the eyes, his gaze like ice, “But I don’t love you either. The forced marriage brought us both too much suffering for that. “

“Ah yes. But it also brought you an heir. “ 

Eren shook his head. 

“It won’t matter. As soon as I’m the king, I’ll dissolve the marriage, and send her home. Your dream of our kingdoms uniting will die with you, old man. “

Grisha didn’t seem to be shaken by the news. He just shrugged.

“You can do that, but all those decisions and their follow ups will be yours to deal with. “, he laid back, closing his eyes. “I have done what I could to make my realm strong. Now it’s up to you. Goodbye, Eren. “

Eren stood up, looking at the frail old man, his father, the man who he hated and loved at the same time. “Goodbye, father. I hope that god will judge you fairly. “

And without a single look back, King Eren I. left the room.

“Daddy! Daddy wake up. “

Eren threw a hand over his eyes, squinting against the sunlight. The weight on his chest let him know that his daughter was sitting there. The weight disappeared, just to land again, hard enough to knock the wind out of him. 

“Carla! “, he coughed out, clutching his chest. “How many times do I have to tell you not to jump on your father. “

She giggled and slid down from him, standing next to the bed and pulling on his arm instead.

“But you have to get up Daddy, Mom said so. “

Eren peered over to the other side of the bed, where his wife was sleeping to find that her spot was empty. He sighed. She shouldn’t really be getting up so early, especially not in her state.

“Carla, where is mommy? “

“She is drinking tea with the angry midget. In your study. “, his daughter replied quickly, proud that she remembered everything so well. 

“Okay, thanks for giving me the message. Now run along. “

She bolted out of the door before he could finish the sentence. Eren shook his head as he sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the mattress. She really was a force of nature. As he dressed, his mind skimmed over the events of the past years. Whole kingdom was shocked when Eren divorced his beloved wife, Historia. And everyone was even more shocked when he married his bodyguard, an unknown Asian woman of low birth just a week later. With the marriage dissolved, the alliance will surely fall apart, that was the first thought on everyone’s mind. Shockingly, the old king Reiss died just a few days after arriving back at his castle, in his bed. The reason for his passing remained unknown. More importantly, without a male heir, his daughter was named the queen. And the first thing on her agenda was reinforcing the relationships with Eren’s kingdom, seemingly bearing no ill will towards him. Their realms grew closer than ever, with new military and trade deals taking place, to the prosperity of both of them. So far, Eren was doing pretty damn good job at being a king.

As he passed servants on his way to the meeting, he wondered what Levi want from him. During his first year of ruling, he was approached by the short man, who offered a partnership to him. He will become a royal spymaster, and in exchange Eren will gain access to the vast network of assassins, spies and thieves that the Ackerman family provided. Following Mikasa’s advice, he took the deal and was very satisfied with the results. Rounding a corner, he pushed the door open, revealing a table and two figures sitting at it. 

Levi looked about the same as ever, short, angry and dressed in black, with Eren’s son on his lap. The boy did his best to grab hold of the assassin’s black hair and giggled every time the older man jerked his way out of his reach, apparently finding it a great source of fun. Mikasa was watching the scene with a smirk on her face, sipping on her tea, the loose dress flowing over the bump on her stomach. Eren came closer, bending over to kiss his wife, before turning to his spymaster.

“Levi, so good to see you! What brings you to us? “

Fed up, the short man put Hannes on the ground, but the baby was restless, crawling over to him and tugging on the leg of his pants. The assassin ignored him, shifting his gaze to his sovereign.

“My king. “, he said, “I have some messages for you, reports from spies. “, he pulled out a fat stack of sealed papers, handing them to him, but before Eren could reach for it, Mikasa swiped the item from his hand. He arched an eyebrow at her, but she said nothing, sipping at her tea like nothing has happened. The king sighed but couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face. He looked back at Levi. “Anything else? “

“Yes, there is one thing. “the short man looked down at the boy still tirelessly tugging at his pants. Finding some mercy in his heart, he bent down and picked him up, letting him sit in his lap again. “You realize what you are doing here, right? “, he tapped the head of the baby lightly.

Eren frowned. “Having a family? “

“Laying a groundwork for a blood war. You have a son, who has claims to both the kingdom of his mother and his father. And each and every one of those little devils you keep creating is a potential opponent for him, a future enemy. “  
Mikasa laid a hand on her stomach protectively, frowning, but Eren rubbed her back to soothe her. “We talked about this, “, he said, “he is the heir to Historia’s kingdom, because she won’t have another one, and my children will take this realm after me. There will be no war. “

Levi watched him, unblinking, before bowing low. “As you say, my king. “But he didn’t sound convinced. 

When the spymaster left, Eren sat on the vacated chair, looking over the table to his wife. She had a vicious look at her face, the same one she had when she departed to kill king Reiss few years back, saying that there is no way she is letting him get away with torturing Ymir. 

“If he as much as touches my children, “, she said, “I’ll murder him myself. And I don’t care that he is your son, Eren. “

“Hey, don’t be like that. “, he shook his head. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Mikasa was raised by murderers and assassins, but the roots were there. “He won’t try anything. God, he is just a kid, and you are already plotting to end him. “

“Just making sure we understand each other. “, she shrugged and stood up, hand on her belly. “I think I need a nap, make sure that the kingdom won’t fall apart while I sleep, will you? “

With a last smile, she left, leaving Eren alone. Just then he realized that she took the spy reports with her. As he was about to go on with his duties, an unfamiliar figure stepped in through the door.

“My king. “, said the tall bearded man, falling to one knee. Eren searched his face, and as he saw more and more similarities between himself and the stranger, a realization slowly dawned on him. 

“Zeke? “

“Yes, my king. “, the man didn’t rise from the ground. “I have come with a confession. “

“What is it? “

Zeke looked up, and there was sorrow on his face, alongside iron determination. 

“Years back, I was fed up with campaigning beyond our borders, knowing that I will never reach the throne, just because I was born from the wrong woman. So I hired an assassin to have you killed. “, he took a deep breath, “I am sorry for what I have done, but I can’t live with guilt any longer. All I can say is, that I am happy that the murderer never managed to finish the job. “With a practiced move, Zeke unsheathed his sword, and handed it over to Eren, hilt first. “Please, end my treacherous life yourself, my king, for I have betrayed you, and there is only one punishment for that. “

Eren stared at him, his mind slowly clicking together. So Zeke was the one who hired the Ackerman family to have him killed. And they sent Mikasa to do the job. Which meant, that in retrospective, he owed everything to the man kneeling in front of him. Without him, he would never meet the love of his life. He would never have his children, and he would probably suffer in an unhappy marriage with Historia. He smiled.

“Rise, my brother. “, he said.

Zeke got to his feet, confused, and his confusion only deepened as Eren closed his arms around him in a hug. 

“Thank you. “Eren whispered, and the war chief was rather sure that the king just went insane. Did he really just thank him for hiring an assassin to have him killed? But the monarch didn’t care. He couldn’t wait till he explains everything to Mikasa, and they will laugh about it together. Because this day, this day just couldn’t get any better.


	9. Night in a jail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rating: M  
> Setting: Canon (chapter 107)  
> Prompt: Mikasa visting Eren in his cell, things getting heated ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) afterwards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter and not a re-upload :D   
> Prompt is from an e-mail, and Katy, if you are reading this, thank you both for the idea and your continued support. Means a world to me.

The door slammed shut behind Hange, leaving Eren alone in the dimly lit room. He backed off from the bars, feeling the boiling anger in him cool down a bit, and sat down on the narrow bed, dropping his head to his hands. The commander’s last words resonated in his head. So he is going through a rebellious phase, is he? No, she didn’t understand. No one understood. The things he did, he had to do them. There was no other way. And they still forced Historia to do that thing, the one he resented from the bottom of his heart. The one that was the last drop that made him go on that one-man mission behind enemy lines. All for naught. Out of nowhere, he could hear the door creaking open, the unoiled hinges squeaking. Was Hange coming back to argue with him again? Or was it someone else? Eren remained sitting, straightening his back and putting his most defiant expression on his face. Whoever it was, he didn’t care to hear another round of scolding. The sound of footsteps came closer, and a person stepped in the light, one he feared to see not because of the possibility of scolding, but from different personal reasons altogether.

Mikasa moved to the door, opening the cell with click of a lock and stepped inside, and came to sit next to him on the bed. She didn’t look at him the whole time, not even once. Eren felt his throat tighten when he observed his childhood friend. She looked so sad, scooted back to lean against the wall with her knees pulled to her chest, hugging them. He could see traces of tears on the upper half of her face, while the lower one was covered with the red scarf, the old thing tattered and mended over and over again, the first gift he ever gave her. And not for the first time, he found himself lacking the right words to say to her. 

“Mikasa…. I-I’m sorry. “, he began quietly. There were so many things he could apologize for, so many wrongs he did to her, both in the past and present, but right now, they both knew what he was talking about. “Sasha…. She’s dead because of me, because of my actions. And I know that she was close to you, and that it hurts really bad… “Eren found himself not being able to continue. The loss was just too new, too raw. He knew that Mikasa and Sasha were close, so the pain must be even worse for her. 

“I just came back from the graveyard; her parents came to see her. And the cook appeared, the one that came with Yelena. “Eren couldn’t see it, but he imagined that she had a small smile on her lips. “Apparently, he had a crush on her, because she was always so grateful for his food. “Mikasa sighed, her voice muffled by the scarf. “I…I can’t blame you for what happened, Eren. We all knew what we were signing up for. “

“Stop that. “, his voice sounded angrier than he wanted it to be, and the sudden change of tone made her look up, confusion written in her features.

“Stop what? “

“Stop protecting me. “, he looked her in the eyes, “You are doing it again, don’t you see? I have to be responsible for my actions, for the deaths I cause. Don’t pretend that they are not my fault. “She looked hurt by his words, but he pressed on. There were things that he needed to get off his chest. “Mikasa, “he began, “you must distance yourself from me. I have done terrible things, and that is only the beginning. I am already known as the devil of Paradis, as the enemy of humanity. And it will only get worse, because I will keep pushing towards my goal, no matter who tries to stop me. “He chuckled mirthlessly, “It’s ironic, don’t you think? I am fighting hard, destroying myself to create a future for you, for everyone on this island. But I won’t be there to see it, the curse will claim me before that. “

She knew about his time limit, of course she did. But hearing him talk about it like this, like he accepted it and almost welcomed the coming end, that hurt. “Stop that. “, she said, shaking her head. But Eren pressed on, reaching out and grabbing her arms, his eyes burning with desperation. He had to make her understand, make her see.

“Do you remember when you showed me the mark on your wrist? We were only kids back then, but still, I was so honored that you trusted me with something as personal as that. Back then, I told you that the tattoo is super cool, and that I wished I could have one too. “Mikasa blushed lightly at the memory, but Eren kept pressing on. “Now, when I know what it means, I am even happier that you have it. Because of what it means to others. Kiyomi and the Asian clan, they will do everything in their power to protect the descendant of their shogun. “He smiled, “You are a princess, Mikasa, royalty. And I’m the devil. You can’t sully yourself with me, not anymore. I... I am grateful for everything you did for me, for everything we had together, but we have to face the reality. I will die in this war, hated by everyone and everything, the man who attacked first, the initiator of violence. But before my death, I will do everything in my power to secure a life for every single person of this island, free of walls and titans, free of the prejudice that is hanging above our heads right now. “Eren’s grip on her shoulders tightened, and a new tone of urgency appeared in his words. “But you, you will live, Mikasa. You will go the Hizuru as a princess, celebrated ruler returning from the long exile. “A sad smile appeared on his lips, and he let go of her. “I wish I could be there to see it. “

Mikasa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was he telling her to leave him, let him fight his own battles without her help? “W-What are you saying? Eren? “

“You have to start living for yourself, Mikasa. You saved my life, again and again, but this time, it’s impossible. Even for a woman who is worth hundred of soldiers. I can’t keep hindering you, and while your future is not very bright right now, I believe that you can make it, you were always the strongest person I knew. You…you have to let me go. “

Silence reigned after he finished. The two soldiers just stared at each other, and Mikasa reached up to draw the scarf out of her face, revealing her lips pressed into a thin line. “So you are saying that I lived my life for you? Is that it? That I exist only to keep saving your ass? “

“No… “, Eren shook his head, that was not what he meant at all, “I just… “

“Shut up. “, Mikasa cut him off, her grey eyes blazing. There was anger in her face, mixed with pain and other emotions Eren couldn’t name. “You talked enough, now listen. I AM my own person; my life is my own. I have dreams, goals I work towards. Going to Hizuru or not, that is my decision to make, not yours. “With every word her eyes seemed to burn brighter and brighter, but Eren wasn’t afraid of the fire. He found himself drawn towards her instead. 

“Why then. “, he whispered, “Why do you keep fighting for me? Why are you the only one who keeps trusting me, who stays by my side no matter what? “

“A lot of reasons. “, she tugged at her scarf, “Not only because you saved me, years ago, showed me how to live, how to fight. But also because you are a kind person, Eren, and I know in my heart that whatever you do, you do it for us, for our humanity. “, she gripped the end of the old fabric, squeezing it in her fist. “I trust you Eren. And I want to be by your side, not because you are my sole reason for living, but because I… I like you… because… “Mikasa could feel her ears burning red, the embarrassment stopping her from confessing, preventing the words to fall from her mouth. She was the titan slayer, the legendary soldier, but as a woman she was horribly undeveloped and awkward, result of life in the military, with no time to worry about foolish feelings. 

There was a flash of something in Eren’s eyes, disappointment perhaps? “Because I’m family, right? “, he said, encouraging her to go on. 

“No. “

Mikasa didn’t know where she found the courage to finally blurt out the word, but here it was. Eren’s eyes widened in surprise, because this was definitely not the answer he expected to get. Perhaps it was from all the years of denying herself, saying that there is no place for romance in the cruel world they lived in, perhaps it was the hopelessness, the threat of the upcoming conflict, or maybe it was all these reasons altogether that gave her the rush of boldness, but she wasn’t about to stop. “I never saw you as a brother, Eren, I’m grateful for your parents for taking me in, but I’m still Ackerman, not Yeager. I don’t want to be with you because you are my family, I want to be with you because… because I love you. “There. She said it. No way out now. 

He started laughing. “What’s that saying you have? The world is cruel but beautiful? Well, that is the perfect way to describe this. “He reached out, placing both hands on the sides of Mikasa’s perplexed face, framing it. “Because I love you too. And it’s cruel that the future you want, no, rather the future we want to have, together, is impossible for us to reach. “He had an easy smile on his face, as if a burden finally fell from his shoulders. Gently, he pushed some strands of her silky black hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “And for the other part, I think that you are the most beautiful thing in the whole world. “

And perhaps this would be enough for him. That they finally confessed their feeling to each other, that they shared something bright in the darkness of the cell. Knowing that she loved him, as much as he loved her, while the whole world was out to get him, filled his heart with warmth he hasn’t felt for years. But it wasn’t enough for her. His words hit her like a truck, making her blush furiously. Suddenly unable to bear his gaze, she dropped her eyes down to his chest, only to realize that he was topless, last remnants of the water droplets visible on the skin of his broad chest. She found herself wondering how it would feel, to run her hands up his abs, to feel the warmth he radiated on her bare skin, how he would taste if she was to kiss him. What was there to lose, she thought to herself. Mikasa licked her lips and looked back up, and Eren was surprised to see the predatory spark in her eyes. But before he could react, she went in for the kill. 

Her body crashed into his with enough force to stagger him, and his hands fell from her face to her waist in order to stabilize them. And just like that, they were kissing. The cramped room they were in, the metal bars, the fear of tomorrow, all of it seemed to evaporate when he felt the push of her lips on his own, so soft and comfortable that he had to close his eyes to enjoy it to the fullest. That was, until he felt her tongue prod at his lips, prying them open. Curious, he opened them, and she shamelessly invaded his mouth, taking it as her own. Surprised by the pleasant sensation, he fought back, not willing to lose this easily and pushing back against her with his own tongue. They never shared even a peck before, but Eren found himself drawn to this strange and amazing activity, not caring a bit about how disgusting it might look on the outside. 

Air, they needed air. With a wet sound they broke away from each other, but his hands remained on her hips while hers were tangled in his hair. In some other world, this would be more than good, more than enough. They would separate, and they would both think about what happened in their beds at night, smiling to themselves, eager to go again as soon as they are reunited. But this world, the one they lived in, offered no such comforts. Every day was a blessing, every tomorrow an uncertain dream, visible in the distance but not close enough to know if they would live to see it. Present, that was all they had. The future was a visage in the desert, forever changing with every blow of the wind, dancing over the sand dunes and away from them, ignoring any pleas they cried. Here and now. So instead of standing up and leaving the cell, Mikasa found herself undoing the buttons of her shirt with shaking fingers while Eren’s equally trembling hands unbuckled the leather straps of her gear. Their frantic movements didn’t stop until the only thing remaining on the top half of her body were the bandages wrapped around her breasts and the scarf around her neck, the red color matching their faces. 

The reality caught up to them. What were they doing? This is stupid, now was no time for such actions. Mikasa breathed hard, already missing the feeling of his lips on her own. She looked so beautiful with her face flushed, and her lips swollen from the roughness of their kisses, her eyes glazed over with want. Out of instinct he reached out, and Mikasa’s breath quickened even further, thinking that he will go for the bandages around her chest. Instead she found herself surprised, because his hand went up to her neck, and slowly unwrapped the scarf from her neck, putting it next to her on the bed. After that, he just put his hands in his lap and watched her, not moving.

“We don’t have to do anything. “, he said, sounding at peace with the whole world. But as he sat there, the light of the candle illuminating his features, she just couldn’t help herself. Seeing Eren, who was always so angry and full or energy as a child, and a silent depressed teenager afterwards, calm and smiling, she gave in to the overwhelming need to touch him, to make sure that this is real, and not some kind of dream her tired mind made up. He shivered under her fingers, but didn’t flinch away, letting her travel all the way from his belly to his face, where she cupped his cheek and pulled him in for another kiss. Soon after he retaliated, and Mikasa felt his own warm fingers touch her abs, trace the outlines of the muscles, and move up, traveling tantalizingly slow until he reached the edge of the bandages on her chest. 

“Can I… “, he asked, leaving the question unfinished, yet she knew what he wanted. But it wasn’t just because of him that she nodded and watched as his fingers started undoing the cloth. She allowed herself to be selfish. She wanted to experience his touch, know how it feels when some other person, one she trusted with her life, presses his hands to her most private parts. So she kept silent, while he finished his task and set the white bandages on the bed, took a deep breath and finally looked at her chest, now as bare as his was. Mikasa fought back the instinct to cover herself with her hands, letting him gaze at her as much as he wanted.

“I’m sorry, “, she said, looking away from him “they are not very big. “

“Sorry? For your body? “Eren shook his head, “Mikasa, I told you that you are beautiful, and I’m getting more and more assured by that every second. “A mischievous smirk appeared on his lips when he continued. “Besides, those are the biggest ones I have seen in my life.“ Oh right, this was his first time seeing a woman topless, she realized.

When he reached out and finally laid his hands on her, she couldn’t stop the shuddering moan that left her lips, which made his eyes shoot up to her face. Mikasa covered her mouth, embarrassed, but he shook his head and pulled her palm gently away. “I want to hear you. “, he said in a whisper, the tone of his voice sending shiver down Mikasa’s spine. But that feeling was nothing compared to when he touched her properly, his hands being somewhat gentle but rough at the same time, kneading the flesh between his fingers. Eren seemed completely enthralled by his task, flicking his thumbs over her nipples and feeling satisfied with himself when he noticed how hard they got. Mikasa had to press her thighs together, because the area there seemed to be on fire, and her underwear felt wet for some reason. 

“E-Eren, “, she moaned out, wanting him to finally get a move on, because he seemed completely happy to just play with her breasts for the rest of the night. 

“O-Oh right, sorry. “he said with an apologetic smirk, pulling her close so he could kiss her again. Mikasa soon found herself on her back with him looming over her, as he pressed his lips against her neck, adding a bit of a bite in the next kiss, pulling another moan from her. Having her writhe under him, her lithe body pressed into his was making him go insane with lust, but he kept himself in check. This night, this time they have together, it might be the only one they get. Knowing that, knowing that every day, every hour may be the last, he aimed to make it as good for them both as possible, to squeeze every bit of pleasure he could from this activity, because if he was going to war, he wanted to do it with every inch of her body engraved deep in his mind. He moved slowly, but there was just a set amount of her skin he could kiss before he returned to his recently discovered favorite part of her. Mikasa’s voice went up when he tongued the areas he groped so eagerly before, and when he pulled the hard bud on top into his mouth, she almost lost it. Eren took his time, trying to suck and bite lightly into the flesh, to see what kind of reaction it would pull from her, and found them all to be adorable. His playtime got interrupted when he felt her crotch push against his thigh, and rock desperately, letting him know that the time to move on was long overdue. Following her unspoken wish, he took off her boots, unbuckled her belt, dropping it to the floor and pulled her trousers down her legs. She assisted him as much as she could, raising her hips and then her feet so he could get the pieces of clothing from her body, leaving her in nothing but her underwear. 

“Mikasa I… “he licked his lips, willing his brain to start working properly. But here she was, lying on the bed underneath him, almost naked with red face and marks all over her chest and neck, showing just where exactly he traced his mouth. “If you want me to stop, just say the word. You don’t owe me this, you don’t owe me anything. “

“I-I know. “, she breathed out, “I want this, Eren, not because of you, but because of myself. “

“But I’ll tarnish you. I am the devil of the Paradis island, and you are the descendant of the shogun. I’m nothing, and you are a princess. “

She reached out, cradling the side of his face with her palm. “You were never nothing, Eren. Not to me. “, she blessed him with a smile, “So please, stop doubting yourself, and make me yours, so I can claim you as mine. “

The doubts silenced in his mind, at least for now, he pressed his lips against hers, slowly pushing his fingers past the hem of her panties. He was surprised by just how wet and hot she was, and when he pushed a finger inside her she moaned into the kiss, her back arching from the bed. But while Eren was more than happy to explore with his hand for a time, she was way too desperate at this point. Soon it was his turn to moan because she sneaked a palm inside his own boxers and curled her fingers around his throbbing member. He was rock-hard ever since they kissed for the first time, but he managed to successfully ignore the needs of his body. Until now. He grabbed her wrist, shaking his head. “Please don’t, I can’t… stop myself. “ 

She just nodded. “I’m ready. “, she whispered into his ear, and her hand let go of him to wrap around his back instead. Eren took a deep breath, and grabbed a hold of his member, guiding himself as he pushed into her. Fuck, it was, it was way too much. In all his life, he never felt this good. He tasted a lot of sensations in his life, but the one that was most prominent was always pain. He was cut, bitten and ripped apart by his enemies, and while the wounds healed thanks to his titan powers, it still hurt. But all those experiences paled in comparison with the overwhelming sensation of her body stretching around him as he pressed on, so tight that he was doubting he could ever move If she wasn’t as wet as she was. Before he realized it, he bottomed out, finally looking up to her face. Mikasa was gritting her teeth, and he could feel her fingernails dig into his back. 

“Y-You okay? “, he breathed out.

“W-Wait, I need… “, she lifted her hips a bit, rearranging her legs around him to ease the pressure she felt as he was stretching her wide. “Ok…ok…Move. “

He nodded, pulling back before pushing back in, stars dancing behind his eyes at the repeated sensation of her heat engulfing him. Soon he found himself speeding up, chasing something he couldn’t even name, fueled by the sounds she was making. That was, until he felt her hands grip his shoulders, hard enough that he could swear he heard his bones squeaking. “Eren, p-please, be gentler. “Fuck, did he hurt her? But meeting her gaze, she gave him an encouraging nod, so he obeyed and started moving again, slower, giving her time to adjust to him better. Soon, her moans echoed from the walls of the cell, accompanied by his grunts and the sound of skin meeting skin, and her fingernails dug into his back again, urging him to keep going. And he wanted, he really did, but she was just too much for him to handle, he couldn’t hold it. With a loud moan of his own, the stars took over and he felt himself twitching inside her as the high washed over him, leaving him spent and shivering. 

When he regained his senses, he realized that he collapsed on top of her, but Mikasa didn’t seem to mind, humming to herself while stroking his hair. “I’m sorry, I finished too fast., “, he said, ashamed by his performance. “I have failed the royalty. “

She laughed. “It’s fine, silly. It still felt pretty good towards the end. “

Eren pushed himself up on his arms, looking down at her pretty face, he couldn’t resist but press a kiss to her nose. Mikasa wasn’t satisfied with that however, and grabbed his chin, angling his head back to her own mouth as they joined in a hot and heavy liplock again, tongues dancing around each other’s. He was growing hard again, he realized. Oh, and he never pulled out. Mikasa seemed to realize that in the same moment he did, her eyebrow shooting up in a question. 

“Perhaps her highness would give me another chance? “, he asked when they parted to breathe, unable to stop himself from smiling. 

She tapped her chin, pretending to think while her body ached for him to move again. “I will, but only on two conditions. First, you have to stop those princess references, it’s annoying. “

“Done. “Teasing her was fun, but nowhere near as pleasurable as what her body could do to him. “And the other one? “

With a movement so fast that his eyes didn’t even catch it, she flipped them over, which made them both moan since they were still connected. “S-Sit up. “, she ordered, and he obeyed like a puppy, pushing himself to the position she desired him in. Mikasa wrapped her arms around his neck and shuffled her legs to a better angle, pressing herself close, close enough so the tips of her hard nipples grazed his torso. “We do it like this. “, she whispered in his ear, to which he responded by nodding as fast as he could. Satisfied, she tongued his earlobe and lifted her hips before dropping back down. Her movements were limited in a position like this, but neither of them cared. She was so close, her body pressed against his, and the rhythmic movement was making his eyes roll back in his head. Mikasa was far from unaffected as well, already worked up from the previous round, she could feel her insides tightening around him, and she increased her tempo, pumping against him with more strength which made the prison bed creak dangerously. Eren’s hands tightened on her waist, as he felt his own high approaching once more, but he was hellbent to wait for her this time, so he crunched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, clenching as much as he could. Mikasa’s head lolled back, as her voice rose steadily louder, feeding his determination. Finally, finally it hit her, like a wave, and she shuddered in his lap, her muscles tightening before relaxing, and her whole body leaned into him completely. The shocks of her orgasm were more than enough for him to find his own release, and he held her against him as he emptied into her again, breathing hard. 

He laid her down on the bed, and finally pulled out, but somehow, he didn’t want to let go of her. So, he snuggled to her instead, shuffling them around until he managed to find a comfortable position on the narrow bed, that wasn’t intended for two people, that’s for sure. Mikasa rested her head on his chest, and he took it upon himself to do exactly what she did for him and started massaging her short-haired scalp. She sighed happily, throwing a hand over his chest, not opening her eyes just yet. And Eren didn’t mind. Because right here, right now, he felt the happiest he ever did in his bloody life. He could pretend that there is nothing beyond the door to his cell, just this narrow bed and the girl in his arms. 

“Let’s go there, together. “, she said out of nowhere, finally cracking her lids open to smile at him.

“Go where? “, he asked, not stopping the soothing movements of his hand.

“Hizuru. After the war is over, let’s go there, you and me. “

It was a pipe dream, and they both knew it. The war was looming over them, the world hated them, and even if they did manage to overcome all these troubles, Eren’s time limit was still there, hanging over his head. But sometimes, sometimes it was good to leave the reality behind. Sometimes it was good to pretend, to just close your eyes and whisper your wishes to the stars. Sometimes, it was good to dream. So he smiled at her. “I would love nothing more. “

“It’s settled then. “, she said, and leaned in to kiss him again. And tomorrow, the beast that lurked at the edge of the nightmare, bringing all the troubles the night chased away, didn’t look so dark.

Because they had each other.


	10. A broken nose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rating: T  
> Setting: Post-canon  
> Prompt: Parental Eremika

Hannes supposed that most of the other kids didn’t get summoned to the office of the general of the Eldian Royal Army when they got trouble in school. Then again, the other kids weren’t offspring of said commander. He kept his gaze on the ground, let it slide on the window, looking anywhere but on the person on the other side of the table, because he could feel the piercing look of the steel grey eyes drilling into his skull. 

“Hannes look at me. “ 

He sighed, slowly letting his eyes climb up, over the massive desk and the small nameplate that sat on top of it, Gen. Mikasa Ackerman-Yeager engraved on it with golden letters. Then finally he focused his gaze on the woman sitting there, his mother. The courage he built up quickly crumbled however, because one quick peek assured him in one thing. Angry mom was scary. “What is this supposed to mean? “, she said, the paper he brought from school held up in her right hand. “Getting into fights? Really? I don’t remember raising you like that! “He opened his mouth just to close it again and shook his head, defiant. Mikasa sighed and used her free hand to massage her temples. She knew that her son was going through early puberty right now, but that didn’t mean that he could go around punching other kids, damn it. Just as she opened her mouth to press the issue and get him to talk, the door to her office opened and her secretary put her head in. 

“I’m terribly sorry to intrude ma’am, but you have the meeting with the queen scheduled. It’s best that we get going as soon as possible.“ Mikasa glanced over to the clock on the wall, seeing that the woman was right. 

“Just give us a minute, and I’ll be right out.“ Her subordinate nodded, and after giving the squirming Hannes a small encouraging smile withdrew, closing the door behind her. Mikasa redirected her eyes back on the child on the other end of the table. Hannes was looking back at the floor, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his hands gripping the arms of the chair so hard that his knuckles were bleeding white. Whatever was the reason for his brawl with the other kids, he didn’t want to tell her, and she had no time to dig deep. One does not keep the monarch waiting, especially when the meeting was with Marley diplomats, who once again tried cutting the import taxes. Bastards.

“Come here, “, she said softly, extending her arms in an invitation. Hannes slid down from the chair and rounded the table, hugging his mother tightly while she smoothed his hair. It was getting long again, she noticed. He pulled away after a minute, finally able to hold her gaze. She smiled at him and put her hands on his shoulders. “You know your mom loves you right? “

He blushed a bit at that. “I do…“, he whispered back, embarrassed by the show of affection.

“Look, mommy has an important meeting now, so why don’t you run to your father. He should be in his office. “ He nodded eagerly, happy to get out of her piercing eyes, but almost squeaked when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Mikasa let go, and he bolted to the door, but before he could go through her voice stopped him. “And Hannes, tell your father everything, okay? “, seeing his face fall, she wiggled her finger at him. “You know we don’t keep secrets in our family. “ He mumbled something, but she wasn’t satisfied by that. “What was that? “

“I said I know, mom. I’ll tell him. “

“That’s my boy. “, Mikasa nodded. “Now run along. “

 

Hannes supposed that most of the other kids would get lost at the military HQ. Then again, their parents weren’t working in the army, while his spend their whole lives in the service. The massive building was basically his third home, after their house in the city and the farm by the ocean. He ran through the corridors as a child and learned to navigate through the maze at early age. Still, a kid in an army building drew a few surprised looks, though only until they realized who he is. No one tried to stop him. But all his knowledge proved to be useless, because when he reached his father’s office, he found it empty. Hannes scratched the back of his head, looking at the space where his dad could usually be found, with its weird skeleton in the corner and drawings of internal organs on the walls. Others could find the pictures disgusting, but not him. He helped his father in his doctor work often and wasn’t at all put off by the sight of blood. What to do? Mom was at a meeting, dad was nowhere to be found, who could he ask for help? Hannes snapped his fingers and left the empty office, making way to the person who will definitely know what to do. 

 

The door creaked, and Levi let out a frustrated groan. Who in seven hells was interrupting his tea break? He glanced to the entrance, ready to let the unfortunate individual know just how much he hated being bothered during his pause, but when he saw who entered, his temper cooled. Hannes looked like such a perfect combination of his parents, it was damn near impossible not to notice. Eren’s face, with a tiny bit slanted eyes caused by Mikasa’s Asian half, topped by the unruly mop of hair his father had, only colored in the midnight black of his mother. Not wanting to sound too happy about the sudden visit, he forced his voice to appear as bored as possible.

“What do you want kid? Can’t you see I’m busy? “

Hannes’s eyes slid over the squeaky-clean room, the tidy table with the tea plate exactly in the middle, accompanied by a singular spoon on a white napkin. “But you aren’t doing anything. “ he said with the innocence of a child. Levi forced out an annoyed sigh, carefully putting his cup down. 

“I’m on a break, so I don’t have to listen to angry brats who barge in on me without knocking. Now spit out what you want, so I can send you packing as soon as possible. “

Hannes forced himself not to giggle when he heard the tone of the old man’s voice. He always managed to sound like he doesn’t care one bit about you, and that whatever you need is completely and utterly not worth his time and attention. It was funny. “I can’t find my dad; do you know where he is? “

“What am I, his babysitter? “, Levi replied, but seeing that Hannes didn’t move from his spot, he sighed. “Can’t you go bother your mom? “

“She’s meeting the queen. She’s the one who told me to go to dad, but now I can’t find him, so I don’t know what to do. “

With a groan of utmost frustration, Levi pushed himself upright, grabbing the cane and walking over to the door where the kid was standing. “Come on, let’s go ask Hange. If anyone knows where Eren is, its her. “ Hannes hurried after the old man, the taps of the cane against the floor giving their walk a rhythm. 

He supposed that others could find the old commander scary, with his permanent scowling and the massive scar that divided his face in two. He always wondered if it has something to do with the name. His mother’s maiden name was Ackerman, same as Levi’s, and they both had scarred faces. Although the one mom had was small, just an old cut on the cheek, while the commander’s was big and scary, and he never even tried to hide it. Whatever the reason was, he wore it as a badge of honor. But Hannes knew that under the cold visage, Levi was a lot of fun. While never showing affection in public, he often gave him piggyback rides when they were alone and talked at length about whatever topic Hannes wanted to know about, being a well of knowledge to the younger man. When he asked his mother, why Levi is so cold in public, her lips twitched, and she said that it’s because he’s a bitter old midget, but dad ruffled Hannes’s hair and explained that the commander was always like that. 

When they reached Hange’s office, Levi didn’t even bother with knocking and opened the door, walking in like he owned the place. Her office was a complete opposite of his. Messy with stacks of paper lying everywhere, that combined with vials and bottles of questionable liquids made for a lab where the tiniest of breezes could equal to a massive explosion. But Hange seemed right in her element, smiling when she saw the pair enter and pushed the glasses up on her nose. 

“Hannes! Levi! What brings two such handsome men to me? Oh don’t just stand there, come give your auntie a hug! “

Ears burning, Hannes crossed the distance to her and she wrapped her hands around him, squeezing him into a tight hug before letting go. “Oh my, you grow so fast. “, she said and pinched his cheek.

“You saw me a week ago. “, Hannes pointed out, covering the abused area with a palm of his hand.

“That’s why I’m saying that you grow fast. “, she said and pinched the other one, “Did Mikasa send you to check on your sister? She’s not here right now, I have her running some errands for me. “

It was a rather unnatural thing, for a girl who should be in school to be working full time in the science division of the military, but Carla was simply too smart. With school boring her, she went to Hange and begged for her to take her as an assistant, because she was fascinated with her work. The older woman, who was intrigued with the oldest child of the Ackerman-Yeager family ever since she was a baby, quickly agreed and took her on. Mikasa was originally against the idea of her firstborn to go and live in the barracks with the scientist, but Carla begged her until she gave in. So now she was working with Hange 24/7, and rumors were that she is being groomed as her successor. Before Hannes could answer, Levi stepped in.

“We are looking for Eren, do you know where he is? “

“Oh…“, Hange’s face grew a bit more serious, “There was an accident at the barracks, explosion. Gas leak or something. Eren was summoned to patch it up. “

“Really, they need him to take care of a wall? Using the Warhammer as a mason? “

“No, it’s not like that. “, the scientist shook her head, “They could do it on their own, but when they use him its done in a few minutes, and we don’t waste any resources. “

Levi snorted, still clearly not 100% on board with the tactics that were being implemented but decided not to comment. “So he’s out in the fields? “

“Yep. Should be around the barracks. “

With a word of thanks and last pinch of Hannes’s cheek, they were out of the office and walking towards the exit from the building. The younger man half expected that Levi will just say that he can find his father on his own and leave, but the rhythmic taping of the cane didn’t change as the old soldier walked down the stairs. 

 

There was a column of smoke coming from one of the buildings, clear indication where to go. About halfway there, they noticed a figure coming in their direction. Tall and long-haired, Eren Ackerman-Yeager’s broad shoulders filled the uniform in a way that turned the young recruit’s heads, as he said one evening, laughing, which in turn made Mikasa frown and mutter that “they can try”. She kept frowning until Eren kissed her all over the face, which made her giggle and she told him to stop in the voice that suggested that she doesn’t really want him to stop, so he swept her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. After a while, she started making those weird noises again, so Hannes took Annie and Erwin and went to play outside, because how are you supposed to focus on anything with your mother moaning just a few rooms away. Hannes crossed the remaining distance in a run, and when he reached his father, Eren picked him up, swinging him around. 

“Captain, it’s good to see you. “, he said when he noticed Levi standing there, leaning on his cane. 

“I’m not captain, not for a good few years, Yeager. “

“And I’m not just Yeager anymore. “, Eren smiled, raising his hand to let the sun glitter on the golden ring on his finger, “But I guess old habits die hard, don’t they. “

Levi shook his head and turned around, walking back to the HQ, his mission done and Eren redirected his eyes to his son. “Hannes, shouldn’t you be at school? What happened? “ Seeing him turn his gaze downwards and mumble something incoherent while kicking a patch of grass, he knew something was up. “It’s awfully hot today, wouldn’t you say? “. That got the child’s attention, and he looked up. Eren flashed him a grin. “Want to grab some ice cream? “

 

The sun was awfully active today, but with the cold substance in his belly and lying on the warm grass, it wasn’t so bad, Hannes decided. Even since they grabbed their treats and Eren found them a patch of ground to lay down on, his father didn’t ask him anything. They just ate in silence, and now he had his eyes closed, resting in silence. “Aren’t you going to ask about the school stuff? “, Hannes said, unable to keep his mouth closed anymore. 

“I figured you’ll tell me once the time will be right. “, Eren replied, cracking one eye open. 

Hannes dug his fingers into the ground, tearing out a patch of grass and circling the blades around his finger. “I…I got into a fight. “

“Hmmm. “

“I didn’t want to! But…“

“But what? “

Hannes sighed. Can’t keep silent forever. “He said that you are a monster, and mom is freak. That neither of you are normal. “

Eren slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, turning to face his son. He watched him play with the grass, eyes downcast once more. “Well, we aren’t ordinary, that’s a fact. But tell me, do you think I’m a monster? “

Hannes looked up, meeting his fathers gaze. He knew about his shifter abilities, of course he did. Eren took him to a forest clearing about three years back, and shifted, not wanting to be any secrets between them. And yes, he was scared at the start, when there was a fifteen meters tall monster looking at him, but then he noticed that it has the same eyes as his father and overcame his fear. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to do it, and was rewarded with the best view of his life when Eren put him on the titan’s shoulder. So yes, his father had certain abilities that other people didn’t have. But he would never call him a monster. “No, I don’t. But dad, what about other people. Why do they think you are one? “

Eren sighed, shifting a bit on the ground. This was a difficult question, especially trying to explain it to a person as young as Hannes might be tricky, but he would do his best. “You know about the war, right? “, he began.

Hannes nodded. It was something no one liked to talk about, but it was real. The war between Marley and Eldia, short but bloody, the one where a lot of people died, including Annie and Erwin, the people who his siblings were named after. It was the war that gave Levi the scar on his face, and it scarred his mother too. Not just the cut on her cheek, but multiple bigger ones on her body, including a massive cut on her abdomen. 

“Well, in war, there are always two sides. “, his father continued, “and to win, we sometimes have to do things we wouldn’t do otherwise, things that in peace would be called a murder, genocide, crimes against humanity. You know, Hannes, the day Carla was born was both the best and the worst day of my life. I loved her, and I loved her mother, but I hated myself for being so weak that I gave into my feelings. I brought a child into a world that hated us, one that would do everything in its power to stomp us out. And to top that all off, there was the time limit of the curse over my head, ticking away day by day. “ Eren leaned in a bit, his eyes burning with intensity, and Hannes knew to listen carefully. Because his father didn’t get so serious often, but when he did, he had a good reason to be. “Back in the days, I was the one who made the first move. I crossed the ocean and started the war. And during it, both me and your mother have done unspeakable things. We killed a lot of people, ended lives whose only crime was that they stood on the other side than we did. So, if you ask almost anyone outside of this island, if I am a monster, they will say yes. Eren Yeager is the devil of Paradis, after all. That is the truth. “

There was silence after his words. Hannes slowly digested the information, while Eren leaned back on his arms. It was still hard to talk about the war, even years after it ended. But he was glad that he didn’t lie to his son, he told him the truth, however harsh it may sound. 

“But dad, “, the young voice grabbed his attention, “you aren’t Eren Yeager anymore. “ A small hand wrapped around his finger, around the ring that sat there. “You are Ackerman-Yeager now. We all are. “

The former devil of Paradis tipped his head back and laughed, before hugging his son and standing up. He put the small body on his back, and started walking back towards the HQ, feeling somehow lighter in his step. 

“Hey, Hannes? “

“Yes dad? “

“Did you win the fight? “

“I broke his nose. “

Eren knew that he shouldn’t, but he still felt a swell of pride in his chest.

“Good one. “

 

“Did you have a good talk? “

“Yep. Apparently he broke the other kid’s nose. “

“Eren! We are not supposed to be happy about that. “

“Oh right, sorry. “

Mikasa sighed on her seat in front of the mirror where she was brushing her hair. Now that she didn’t have to worry about it getting caught in the 3DM gear anymore, she let it grow out, and it was past her shoulders, a cascade of black silk. Eren was watching her from their bed, lying on his back with his arms behind his head. 

“Why did the fight even start? What happened? “, she asked.

“Oh, you know. I am a monster, and you are a freak. Nothing new. “

She shook her head. Just a few years since the end of the war, and some people have already forgotten how much they both sacrificed for this peace. They bled for this land, just to be insulted. As always, Eren seemed to have sense her bad mood, and left the bed to put his arms on her shoulders. 

“Honey, what’s wrong? And don’t say it’s just the Hannes thing, I can feel that something happened. “

The disadvantages of marrying your best friend since childhood. He knew you better than you knew yourself.

“It’s Kiyomi again. She sent another letter. “

“The usual? “

“Yes. Demanding that I come to Hizuru to claim my heritage as a princess. To divorce you and abandon all my children, to marry a pure blooded Asian and carry out my duty. The classic. “

“You have to hand it to the woman, she’s tireless. “

“It’s just annoying. “ Mikasa shook her head, “I told her countless times that I’m happily married, that I love my children and yes, I plan to have more and no I won’t leave them. “

In her brooding, she didn’t even notice Eren bending down until he pressed a kiss to her neck, the one that made her whole body shiver. “Plan to have more children? “, he whispered into her ear, grin on his face. 

“Maybe…“, she whispered back, unable to keep herself from smiling. 

“Well, we better get on it then. “, he said, and soon Mikasa forgot all of her troubles. 

 

The weird noises were coming from their parent’s bedroom again, but it was happening too often for the kids to care. Hannes sat on his bed, staring at Annie who was mirroring him across the room, while Erwin was sleeping soundly between them. 

“You are stupid. “, he whispered, “Everyone knows Levi is the strongest soldier. “

“He’s old and walks with a cane. “ Annie scrunched her nose, “Mom could beat him, easy. She always beats dad when they spar. “

“He’s letting her win; don’t you see the way he smiles every time she pins him to the floor. He’s enjoying it for some reason. “

“No he isn’t. “

“Yea he is. “

“You just like Levi because he said you might join his squad once you grow up. “

“And you keep saying mom is the best because you look like her. “ That was the truth, Annie was really the perfect small copy of Mikasa.

She threw her long black hair back and frowned at her older brother. “I’m saying mom is the best because she is. And I’ll train with her until I am the best soldier, just you wait. “

“No, I’ll be the best soldier. You can’t beat me, I’m stronger. “

“Just you wait. “, she repeated and turned her back, clearly done with the conversation. Hannes followed suit, stifling back a yawn. He WILL become the strongest soldier in the world, to make mom and dad happy, Annie can be the second best. 

Just watch him.


	11. Push in the right direction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: T  
> Setting: Current manga chapter (111)
> 
> Prompt: I've always thought that Historia is the biggest Eremika shipper besides Armin, it might be fun watch her trying to play Cupido for Eren and Mikasa.

It was never hard for Historia to see. Perhaps she was only extra perceptive to this kind of behavior, or everybody else was just ignorant, but somehow no one ever seemed to notice. The secret looks, the changed expressions, the little touches, the moments the two of them shared. Subtle, hidden, but it was there, and she wished that either Eren or Mikasa would finally go ahead and say it, have the talk both yearned to have to see that the other had feelings too. Back in the old days, Historia was really looking forward to it. She snorted. How the times change.

Years flew by, and everything was different now. She was a queen, well, at least in title, her name was different, and the nation she belonged to was picking a fight with the entire world. She discovered love, feeling she didn’t even know her battered soul was capable of, just to lose it again, the object of her affections slipping from her grasp. The letter from Ymir hardly ever left her pocket, and in times when Historia felt lonely, she would read it again and again, the tiny black scrawl on the yellowed paper, and it would fill her with strength to finish the day, to move forward. Oh, and there was the little fact that she was pregnant now, can’t forget that.

Life changed for everyone however, not only for her, and seeing her one-time friend slowly climb up the hill leading towards the house she resided in made her question just how much. Could Eren even still be considered her friend? Did he see himself that way? He wasn’t alone, of course not. The tall figure was accompanied by a score of soldiers, but they didn’t look like his guards, the opposite really. Historia frowned. Here, she was isolated, with the news being reduced just to a trickle by her caretakers. It was for her own protection, as they said, so she wouldn’t stress in her delicate state, but Historia wasn’t stupid. She knew what this was all about. Military was angry, that she did what she did, that the plan Eren shared with her worked and made them delay their plans. Honestly speaking, she couldn’t care less. But even with her news being controlled, she knew about what Eren did, that it branded him a traitor, that he was supposed to be locked up in the city instead of coming to stand next to her, long hair flowing around his face. Yet, here he was. 

“Hey.”, he said, his eyes never leaving her face while the soldiers that came with him quickly pacified the small number of her own guards, disarming them and ushering them back into the house at a gunpoint. 

“Hi.”, she replied, indifferent gaze sliding over him, also ignoring the scenes unfolding around her. For once, she couldn’t stop them. And honestly, she didn’t really care anyway. She was nothing but a glorified hostage, held here until her child is born, who would then most likely get separated from her as soon as possible and raised as a new heir to the throne, fully under the control of the military, while her own body would be used as a vessel to hold the titan power. Not a very nice future to look forward to in any case. “Aren’t you supposed to be locked up?”

“No cell can hold me.”, he pointed out, but there was no boasting in the statement, just a fact. “Not anymore.”

They fell silent afterwards, just watching the sun shine for a time, while all around Eren’s revolutionaries completed the sweep of the house, rounding the members of her staff and keeping watch. 

“I’m sorry about this.”, he finally said, and it was clear that he’s wasn’t talking about the way he took over her house. His eyes moved over to her swollen stomach, sorrowful. “I never wanted this to happen to you.”

The nation he fought for hated him, the whole world was out to get him, but he was still sorry about the fact that she had to get pregnant in order to keep herself free of the titan. 

“It’s not your fault. Not this.”

“Zackley is dead.”, he said it like it was nothing, and Historia felt a rush of happiness inside her she quickly suppressed. Even with the fact that Darius Zackley was the man behind all this, the one who forced her to do all these things, the one who used her as a puppet queen while the military ruled in truth, he was still a man who helped them with the revolution, and while it was hidden beneath the layers of his own madness, he loved Eldia and would die to protect the people of Paradis. Well, he kind of did in the end. 

“He wanted to have me eaten, after torturing me for information of course.”, Eren continued, his face twisting into a mask of rage, “My hand was forced.”

He was stalling. But Historia was pregnant, and tired, and shortly just fed up with everyone treating her like a child. She had no intention of letting him dance around the fact without telling her.

“Eren.”, she got his attention, straightening a bit in her chair, “Why are you here?”

The anger inside him subsided and for a new wave of sadness, and he shook his head.

“You know.”

She did. Escaping from prison, there were only two possible sources for Eren to get access to the royal blood. Zeke, who was being kept somewhere in the forest under Levi’s watchful eye, and her. Now, with her in his hands, Eren could activate the rumbling anytime he desired to. With a shaking hand, she stroked her belly, trying her best not to think about it. She wanted to live, damn her but she did, even with all this shit going on. Her thoughts twisted back to Ymir, wondering if she felt the same thing. Did she beg for her life? Did she cry?

No.

That wasn’t her way. If anything, Ymir would laugh in the face of death while keeping her head high, waiting for the jaws of her executioner to close around her. Thinking about Ymir returned her to the trainee days, when she first realized the growing affections of the freckled girl about herself and it made her notice that she wasn’t the only one.

“So, do you like him?”, she asked Mikasa one night at the bunk, eyes bright, while the pale girl went red in the face and refused to meet her eyes.

“Like who?”

“Eren! I saw you two sparing together today, it was so…”, her look flew to grinning Ymir and back, “Intimate.”

Mikasa didn’t answer her back then, turning her back and murmuring a quick goodnight, much to her amusement. Well, Historia didn’t really need an answer to know anyway, but right now was as good time as any, no?

“What about Mikasa?”, she asked, watching the tension leave Eren’s body.

“I don’t….”, he took a deep breath, “I don’t want her around me. She would be branded a traitor, as I am now, she doesn’t deserve that.”

“Isn’t that up to her to decide?”

Eren just shook his head. It made her wonder if he would be capable of even hurting her, or she him, if they found each other on the other ends of the barricade. As on cue, there was a cry of alarm, and horses appearing at the horizon, quickly coming closer. Eren took a step forward, one hand resting on Historia’s shoulder in a casual gesture. But she wasn’t fooled. It was a statement, that he has captured her, and can activate the rumbling anytime he wishes to. A show of power. When the riders came near, it was easy to identify them. Armin, with his short cut blonde hair, Hange, with a tight expression on her face, and Mikasa, grey eyes showing nothing as she walked the rest of the way, close to her comrades. The three officers were accompanied by a group of soldiers, but they stayed behind on Hange’s order, remaining with the horses. It was a smart move, as no amount of military power could stop Eren right now, as he was directly touching royal blood.

“Armin. Hange. Mik...”, his voice broke, and he had to cough to get it back under control, “Mikasa. How did you find me?”

“Armin said you would be here.”, said the commander, her single eye scanning the situation in front of her. “What are you doing, Eren?”

“What I have to do.”

“Keeping the queen hostage is necessary?”

“It surely beats sitting in a cell, waiting for an execution.”

“Zackley made…. mistakes.”, Hange was obviously uneasy, “We changed.”

“It’s too late.”, Eren shook his head, his grip on Historia’s shoulder tightening.

Neither of them would back down, she could see it now. Eren felt betrayed, angry, while Hange was following the iron rules of the military, with Armin clearly backing her up. Mikasa seemed to be the only party who wasn’t ready to fight to the death, her eyes darting between her group and the other.

“Eren….”, she said, softly, and even from her position next to him Historia could see his jaw clenching when he heard it, as he had to fight to keep his own feelings from spilling out. 

She was just about done.

“You, soldier.”, she called at a young man holding a rifle in unsteady hands, getting his attention. “Aim that piece at me.”

He stared, apparently not sure what to do.

“NOW!”, she ordered, and he scrambled to follow, the barrel finally swinging in her direction. 

“There.”, she turned to Hange. “As you can see, I’m a hostage, fully under control of Eren’s soldiers. Now you have to negotiate for my release.”

“Well I…”

But Historia gave her no time to think.

“Eren, why don’t you take Mikasa and you two go and have a talk. About me, of course, nothing else.”

As usual with the two of them, they just stared at each other, not knowing what to say. But she was through with waiting.

“GO!”

Maybe it was the military training deep inside their bones, or maybe the two boneheads finally realized what chance she was giving them, but they left, quickly, walking out of the ear shot. They could still see them, standing at the grass, close to each other. Eren was the first one to say something, while Mikasa pulled her scarf up to her nose, listening. 

“It’s not going to change anything.”, swinging her attention back to the pair in front of her, Historia could see that it was Armin who spoke, “He’s still a traitor.”

He was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to prove it to her, but in his eyes, she could see determination that Mikasa lacked. He wouldn’t budge. 

“It will. Maybe not for the world.”, she turned her gaze back to the plain, watching her old friends finally confess, after years of denial, “But for them.”

And that was enough.

When they did come back, Mikasa had tears streaks down her cheeks, but she was smiling, and Eren’s eyes were blazing with new strength. 

“I have decided to leave the queen in your care, but in exchange I will be taking Mikasa with me.”

No one opposed that, mostly because they weren’t stupid and knew that it was her own decision to go with him, not any kind of hostage exchange. Armin did step up however, offering his hand to the escaped prisoner.

“Next time we meet,”, he said as Eren shook it, “We might be enemies.”

There was no remorse in his eyes, but then again, neither was in Eren’s.

“We already are.”

The departure of the revolutionaries was swift, as they passed the squad Hange brought, glaring at each other. There was no goodbye between them, the tension way too high. But as Historia watched them leave, with Eren finally reunited with his one and only love, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Are you seeing this, Ymir? We couldn’t have our own time, but perhaps I helped those two to be happy, if only for a short period. Things would be even harder for him now, as the only place for him to go would be the forest, to face Levi and perhaps even Armin to get to Zeke and the royal blood, but with Mikasa at his side, maybe he could do it. Then again, did she really want him to succeed?

All these questions. She was tired, and pregnant, and everything hurt, so instead of working her brain, Historia slowly stood up, hand at her stomach, and shuffled back inside the house, leaving the baffled military outside. Those problems were their to solve. For better or worse, she had done her part.

Are you with me, Ymir?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, it was some time since i did a oneshot, hope i didnt lose my touch.  
> Most likely a bit more angsty then I originally intended, but with way the manga is right now, you can blame me?
> 
> Till next time!


	12. Hate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: T  
> Setting: Current manga chapter (112)
> 
> Because it fucking hurts, okay?

She’s beautiful. Even with the travel stained clothes, and the obvious exhaustion written in her delicate features, she’s the prettiest thing he has ever seen. And as Eren watches her and Armin over the table, he can still see the hope they have in their eyes. That this situation is just a huge misunderstanding. That everything can be resolved. That he will come back with them. 

They don’t know that he can never go back, not anymore.

Steeling himself, Eren recalls the conversation with Zeke, the one he had over in Eldia, before this whole situation went to shit.

“You have to hurt them.”, said his older brother, taking a drag from his cigarette.

“I’m not sure I can. They are dear to me, above everything.”, Eren shifted in his seat, next to the older man, staring at the ocean that separated this land from the island he was born at. The ocean he crossed to set every living soul there free.

“The more you care about them, the more you have to push them away. Don’t you realize? For this to end the way we want, you must be the villain of this story, Eren.”, Zeke threw down his cigarette and stomped it out, sighing. “Me and You, we don’t get to live in the end. For people like us, there’s no happy ending waiting.”

And it hurt, the realization that his brother was right. There was no future for him and Mikasa, no farm somewhere in secluded place, no family to call their own, no lazy rainy days where they could just stay in bed, lost in each other, ignoring the outside world. In the end, it boiled down to a simple fact. She would live, he would die. And if her memories of him must be tainted, in order for her to be truly free of his shadow, so she could have all these things and more, just with someone else, he was willing to make that sacrifice. There was no other way.

So, he speaks. He tells them everything he prepared with Zeke, bending the truth to his needs, hurting his two best friends where he knew they were the weakest. Because it had to be done. Armin is becoming angry, but Mikasa’s eyes are glossing over, sadness spreading over her face. With every fiber of his being, he wants nothing more than to stop this charade, to go over to her and hug her, tell her exactly how he feels and not those painful half-truths. But he can’t. He can’t keep her attached to himself. Because before this story is done, she might have to be the one that kills him.

Keeping the neutral expression takes every last ounce of his dedication, but he manages in the end. Looking straight into the eyes of the woman he loves, the one who saved him countless times both from enemies and from himself, one who came into his life as a blessing he would eternally be grateful for, albeit secretly. He looks into those grey eyes he always hoped to drown in and says the biggest lie in his entire life.

“Ever since I was a kid…. Mikasa, I’ve always hated you.”

Armin’s fist to his face, when it finally lands, is a blessing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I always kinda expected the ships to start sinking, as the manga setting is about as far from a romantic one as possible. But seeing it confirmed is still painful.  
> Now excuse me while I go back to crying in the corner.


	13. Trouble comes from East

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: M  
> Setting: Modern AU
> 
> Prompt: Mikasa saving kidnapped Eren
> 
> As this has been done numerous times in the canon, I decided to try and give it a modern twist, see how that goes. It turned out rather long in the end, and I would love to hear what you people think about it.
> 
> Most importantly  
> Enjoy!

In her life, Mikasa found herself in dozens of bizarre situations. She waited a whole day on a roof, not moving an inch, before she got a perfect shot at her mark. She sneaked through sewers to plant a bomb on the chassis of a car. She had to fight a crazy old fedora wearing Japanese dude one on one with katanas, fencing for what felt like eternity before the stuff she poisoned him with the day before finally took hold, and he died, his last words something about her lack of honor. But every contract was a new challenge, and now she was experiencing yet another first. Sitting in a bar, with a pretty blonde girl bawling her eyes out across the table was something she’s never done before. 

“Y-You have to save h-him,”, she managed to push out in-between the sobs, cleaning her nose loudly afterwards, “there is no one else.”

Mikasa felt rather awkward, because the scene the blonde was creating was pulling the eyes of the whole bar to her. She never liked being the center of attention. But what is the right reaction, when you peacefully sit at your favorite establishment, enjoying a nice cold beer, and out of nowhere this tiny well-dressed female appear, and starts crying. What was she supposed to do?

“Listen, ehm… what’s your name?”, she began, hoping that she will finally shut the fuck up. 

“K-Krista.”

“Right, Krista.”, Mikasa leaned a bit forward, putting on her most intimidating look, hoping to scare whoever this was off, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

For all her efforts, Krista didn’t seem to notice. 

“My fiancé! They kidnapped him! H-He’s… He’s…”, she started sobbing again, much to Mikasa’s annoyance. Reaching out, she snapped her fingers underneath Krista’s face, visibly startling her.

“Hey! Focus! Who’s kidnapped? Who?!”

The questions finally seemed to get to her, and Krista dried her tears, sniffing loudly. 

“Eren Yeager, a surgeon, my fiancé, someone took him, and I don’t know who.”, her watery eyes focused on Mikasa, pleading, “Please, you have to help me, I beg you.”

“Me? Why me? Just go to the police.”

“I did, of course I did.”, she cleaned her nose again, this time with a bit more dignity. “But they don’t know anything. Please…”

“Look, miss, you came to the wrong person. I don’t save people.”

I kill them, she added silently. With her parents murdered at age nine, she moved to her uncle, Levi, who was an ex special forces. Mikasa was a wreck back then, so emotionally crippled that she couldn’t even sleep at night, spending most of the days crying. Levi didn’t know how to help her, as she refused to talk to any psychiatrist, but after noticing that she seemed interested in learning how to protect herself, he fulfilled her wish. Military trained himself, he taught her over the years, how to shoot with a variety of guns, how to fight with a knife, and everything he knew about hand-to-hand combat. As a teenager, Mikasa had just a few friends, but she treasured them greatly. So, when one of them, a girl, got raped, she didn’t hesitate for a second. As a hound, she tracked down the offender, and executed him, single bullet right between the eyes. This type of vigilante justice is unacceptable by society, but Mikasa didn’t care. The system was broken, it never managed to find the criminals who killed her parents, she did that herself, at age sixteen, finally delivering what they both deserved, seven years late. As it usually is with acts like these, someone caught wind of what she did, one thing led to the other, and before she realized it, Mikasa was a professional assassin. Gangs, organizations, sometimes even singular people paid her to get rid of individuals who needed to be removed, and she got rid of them, quickly and quietly. To this day, she never missed a mark. In short, no, she did not save people. 

“But I heard that you take care of problems.”, Krista blinked in surprise, “I have money if that is the issue…”

“I take care of other problems, not saving kidnapped lovers.”, Mikasa growled, massaging her temples. This little lady was giving her a serious headache, “Who even told you about me?”

“Armin, we know each other from a yoga class.”, she squeaked, “He said that you will help me….” The damn tears started to fall again. “Please.”

God damn Armin and his too large mouth. The fact that he was one of her oldest friends didn’t give him the right to just go and spill her secrets everywhere, stupid blondie. But before she could tell Krista that she really has no intention of helping her, no matter what Armin said, the girl spoke again. 

“I don’t know how much your usual rate is, so I was thinking…. Three hundred thousand? Is that okay?”

Mikasa did her best to hide her surprised expression behind the glass, but she almost choked on her drink anyway. Thee hundred thousand? Was this girl serious? To steady her voice, she cleared her throat, glaring at Krista with her best unimpressed face.

“Since this is hardly what I normally do, you have to do better than that.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. How about half a million?”

“Those are some large numbers sweetie, are you sure that you can pay that?”

But Krista just waved her hand. 

“Daddy owns a large company, money is really not an issue. Ever heard of Reiss holding?

Wait a minute, if her father owned Reiss holding, does that mean…

“You are Krista Reiss?”

She nodded.

“I am.”

Well, that solved a few questions. If this Eren dude was just a no-name surgeon, he was most likely kidnapped because of his connection to her. He was worthless on his own, but if his fiancé was the daughter of one of the richest men in America, it made sense that someone would want to snatch him. Mikasa narrowed her eyes in calculation. Maybe she could abuse those little findings, push this heiress a little bit further, just to see how far she would go. After all, she seemed completely clueless.

“Eight hundred thousand, and I’ll consider it.”

“A million.”

Okay then…

“Deal.”, Mikasa nodded, “But I’ll want the money first. Can you make them untraceable?”

“Easily.”, Krista stood up from her chair, turning towards the exit, “I’ll make a few calls, wait for me here, please.”

Fifteen minutes later, Mikasa was watching on her phone as her account started swelling, numerous smaller payments flowing in from cover-up companies, adding together to the promised million. Her head was swimming. She, Mikasa Ackerman, who grew up in a trailer with her uncle, just became a millionaire. Finding her voice was hard, but she managed, looking over the table to Krista’s inquiring gaze. 

“I’ll need to ask you a few questions first. But I promise that I’ll find your Erin.”

“Eren.”

Whatever.

 

It was dark outside, the night in full swing, while Mikasa sat in her tiny apartment, staring at the wall. While still wrapping her head around her new financial situation, she grilled Krista, learning what she knew. It wasn’t much. Apparently, Eren disappeared after his shift at the hospital, along the road to the house he lived in with Krista. His car wasn’t found, as the kidnappers most likely destroyed it to cover their tracks. So far, there were no demands from them, no one contacted Krista or her father, but that was understandable, as it was only a week since he was taken. Mikasa knew from experience that it’s often better to let the victims stew for a bit before asking for ransom, they were more likely to agree to pay the money afterwards. This lack of information did leave her in a tight spot, however. She was sitting on a nice pile of cash, sure, but the job she was paid for was rather hard to do without a starting point. Mikasa had to find one, and there was only one organization that could help her with that, her old friends. The police.

Another thing that she learned from her uncle was that it’s always useful to have an inside man in the force. As they were legal, unlike her, they had the access to funds and sources she could never have. After a bit of snooping and a few failed attempts, Mikasa acquired a source on the inside, an officer who liked only one thing more than his professional dignity. Money. Jean Kirsten wasn’t a bad guy. He paid his taxes, worked diligently, hell, he even donated to charity from time to time. But long years at the force without a real advancement in the ranks left him bitter enough to be bribed, exactly as Mikasa liked it. Their meeting spot was on a backstreet, in a part of town where there was almost no possibility of them being disturbed by anyone. Standing here now, Mikasa hoped that Jean will give her something, anything to start her search, because as it was now, she was completely clueless. 

“Mikasa! Looking as beautiful as ever.”, his cheerful voice made her head snap up, hand half reaching to the gun at her waist before she realized that it was no one else but the policeman she was waiting for. If he noticed her slip, he didn’t say anything about it. 

“Hello Jean, you got something for me?”, she said, hoping to be done with this as soon as possible. But he seemed to disagree.

“What’s the rush?”, he grinned at her, “Why don’t we take this somewhere else, a bar or something. Let me buy you a drink, and we can talk after.”

On the inside, Mikasa grimaced, but outside she forced herself to smile. It wasn’t hard to see that Jean was hitting on her, but she had no intention of letting him into her pants. For one thing, she wasn’t attracted to him, but more importantly he was useful, and sleeping with him would create unnecessary complications. 

“I’m sorry, but I’m in a rush.”, reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the envelope with the money, holding it up for him to see, “So why don’t we just get done with this?”

“Well, you asked for the Yeager case, the kidnapping right?”

“That’s correct.”

“I’m not going to ask how you know about that, but it’s a rather delicate case. Very sensitive information.”

Playing hard to get, huh? No trouble, Mikasa was willing to indulge him, to a degree. 

“I understand that.”, retrieving a second envelope, she let it join the first one in her hand, “That’s why I’m paying you double.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but this is really something special.”

She groaned. He would allow himself to be bought, otherwise he wouldn’t come here, all she had to do was guess the right price. Luckily, she was rather rich at the moment. 

“Triple?”, she tried, but Jean shook his head.

“You don’t understand honey.”, slowly, he reached out to smooth a strand of hair away from her face, “I don’t want money.”

Oh, that’s how it is then.

“You want to fuck me?”

His cheeks colored a bit, but he nodded, eyes wary, He knew that she was dangerous. 

“Fine.”, stuffing the envelopes back in her pockets, she turned on her heel, gesturing for him to follow, “Let’s go to my place, so this can be over with.”

At least she would save on the cash.

 

In his fantasies, they sometimes used Jean’s handcuffs in the foreplay, the sex itself much wilder afterwards. What he didn’t dream up however, was that he was the one with his hands behind his back, tied, lying down on the ground, cheek pressed against the cold road, with Mikasa watching him from her bike, the rear wheel dangerously close to his face. With a jerk of her wrist, she reved the engine, the sound deafening as it was right next to his ear. 

“Want to talk now?”, she shouted over the ruckus. 

“I don’t know anything!”, he screamed back, eyes wide as he watched the wheel turn. Mentally, he was cursing himself. Trying to bed someone who he knew was a fucking assassin, that must be the dumbest thing he has done to this date. It took Mikasa about five seconds to disarm him, knock him facedown to the ground and cuff him with his own handcuffs, getting on her bike after with an amused expression. 

“See, I was always wondering.”, ignoring his plea, she turned off the engine and moved the wheel a bit closer, pressing it right against Jean’s cheek, sandwiching him between the rubber and asphalt. “If I turn the bike on now, do you know how fast it will tear off your skin?”

“I swear! We didn’t find shit!”

Mikasa shrugged.

“Then you are useless to me.”

Seeing her completely cold eyes, Jean realized that she wasn’t bluffing. She would do it. He should have taken the fucking money.

“Wait! Wait, there’s something.”

Pausing, she gestured for him to go on.

“We found out that Yeager has a half-brother and brought him in for questioning, but he doesn’t know anything.”

“Maybe you just didn’t ask right.”. A half-brother? Well, it was better than nothing. “What’s his name?”

“Zeke, he owns a bar downtown. Monkey Trouble.”

Satisfied, she backed off the bike from Jean’s head, turning it on again.

“See, was that so hard?”

Digging into her pocket, she retrieved the key to the handcuffs, throwing it on the ground next to Jean.

“It was a pleasure working with you, officer Kirstein.”, with that, Mikasa saluted, and drove off, leaving him in the dust. 

 

The bar wasn’t hard to find. Mikasa parked on the street in front, taking her car instead of the bike, to be less suspicious, and entered, searching for the owner. Walking up to the counter, she got the attention of the serving girl, ordering a beer. When it was handed to her, Mikasa smiled at the waitress. 

“Can I ask where the owner is?”, she asked.

“Zeke? Why? Is he in some trouble?”

“Oh no, nothing like that.”, Mikasa put on her best dreamy expression, which was rather hard because she very rarely used it, “I just heard from the girls that he’s like super-hot, so I wanted to see for myself.”

“Is that so?”, the black-haired woman returned her smile, “Then I’m sorry to inform you that he’s married. To me”

With that, she held up her hand, a golden band on the finger. 

“Pieck Yeager.”

“I’m Sasha Blouse,”, Mikasa lied smoothly, borrowing a name from a girl she knew years back, shaking the offered hand, “That’s too bad that you already snatched him. But could I like, see a picture or something? Pretty please.”

The façade of stupid bimbo was draining her IQ by the second, but for a million dollars she was willing to keep it up. Pieck measured her for a second, but in the end her ego won over her wariness. Reaching for her phone, she found a picture and turned the display to Mikasa, showing a tall bearded blond man with glasses, smiling into the camera. 

“Oooh, the girls weren’t lying.”, burning the face into her mind, “Sasha” looked back at Pieck, “You are a lucky gal!”

“He’s going to be here for the night shift.”, Pieck informed her, “You can talk to him then. But no seducing!”

Doing a cross over her heart, Mikasa nodded at her reassuringly.

“None.”

Then it was all about finding the right opportunity. In the end, she was too tired to wait for Zeke, as she told Pieck, promising to come back some other day, and returned to her car, parking it into a more secluded spot while expecting her prey. As she was told, the owner appeared about two hours later, and getting out of his car in front of the bar, he stretched his back with a groan. Mikasa mirrored him, approaching her target from the darkness.

“Zeke?”, she called.

Confused, he turned, his gaze sliding over her figure.

“Yes?”

She shot him with the taser, making his body fall on the ground, twitching. Once he was out, she kneeled next to him, stabbing his neck with the syringe, making sure that he won’t wake up until the time will be right. Zeke’s body was heavy, as she dragged him behind herself to the car, but Mikasa was much stronger than she looked. Unceremoniously, she dumped him in the trunk, locking it afterwards. Pieck will have to handle the night shift by herself, she thought, as she sped up the car away from the city, to the spot she had prepared for a situation like this.

 

When Zeke woke up, groaning, he found himself lying on the grass, with a shovel next to him. Mikasa was sitting on the trunk, legs dangling freely, gun in her hand. She gestured towards the ground, a single word leaving her lips in a tone that allowed no discussion. 

“Dig.”

Cold sweat running down Zeke’s back, even while the physical activity was warming him up, as he could feel the barrel of the gun aiming right in the middle of his torso. His captor didn’t ask him a single question, not until he was about knee deep in the ground, the shape she ordered him to make rather easy to identify. He was digging his own grave. 

“Look I…”, he began, only to be cut off by her.

“Your brother, where is he?”

“I… I have no idea.”

“Then keep digging.”

Zeke was in the hole up to his shoulders now, sweating profusely. The ominous silence was much worse than anything, the only sounds were the shovel creaking on the gravel and how Mikasa tapped the heel of her boot against the car. 

“All right,”, she finally stopped him, “That’s deep enough. Throw the shovel out.”

He considered for a moment trying to hit her with it, somehow, but that was impossible. Mikasa was no beginner in this and picked a distance where she wouldn’t be easy to aim at with a shovel, but a gun was a different story. Weighting the pros and cons, Zeke decided not to rile her, and threw the shovel out of the hole, as instructed. With a sigh, Mikasa jumped down from the car, making her way to the edge, looming menacingly over the scared bar owner. 

“This is your last chance.”, she informed him, “Where is Eren?”

“I…I…I can’t tell you!”, he screamed, terrified, “They will kill my wife If I do!”

“You can worry about them later.”, Mikasa answered, completely unmoved by his outburst. She cocked the gun. “I am here now.”

Zeke was close to the breaking point, but wasn’t there yet, he needed one last push. To give him that, she squatted down, dropping her voice to a dangerous growl.

“Listen asshole, this conversation ends in two ways. First, you tell me what you know, and I will let you walk free. Second, you keep this shit up, and I will shoot out your knees and elbows and bury you alive. Now what will it be?”

As expected, he broke.

“They came to me on the street, some Russian gangsters.”, he was stammering, but Mikasa still managed to pick out the words she needed, “Asked questions about Eren, I didn’t give them anything so they b-beat me up and threatened my w-wife. Said that they will burn down the bar with her inside.”, his eyes looked up at Mikasa, tears in them, “I just told them where Eren works, and what time he gets off, nothing else. I swear! I didn’t know that they will kidnap him.”

“Good so far. Now where is he?”

“I… I don’t know! All I saw was that the van they drove off in had the logo of the fishing company at the side. They have warehouses in the dock.”

Mikasa seemed to be considering his confessions, watching him silently for a time. Then, she aimed the gun right at him. 

“Turn around and get down on your knees.”

“But…”

The gunshot was loud, echoing, the bullet burying itself into the ground just inches from his foot.

“Now!”

Tears running down his face, Zeke followed her orders, turning away form her and falling to his knees, sobs wrecking through his body. 

“Start praying.”, she ordered him, voice cold and completely void of any emotion.

Zeke was never a religious man, but he prayed, and he prayed hard, waiting for the bullet to dig into the back of his skull. Instead of that however, he could hear the car doors close, and the vehicle sped off, leaving him alone in the grave. With a sinking feeling in his stomach and a certain warmth spreading around the crotch, he realized that he pissed himself. 

 

Finding the correct warehouse was a bit harder than finding the bar, but Mikasa managed in the end. After all, she was rather experienced in that. Only one of the buildings at the dock was flanked by men with clumsily hidden handguns under their clothes. Setting up a watchpoint at a nearby rooftop, she surveyed the grounds, looking for a way in. The warehouse was rather well guarded, so getting in silently might prove a challenge, and she had no time to spend a day or longer just watching for a lapse in their vigilance. She had no idea what they were doing with Eren inside, and she was rather sure that Krista was expecting her fiancé back in one piece. The backdoor was her way in, she decided, even with the guard standing there. Returning to her car, Mikasa could feel the familiar rush of adrenaline in her blood, the quiet before the storm. On the backseat was a duffel bag, one that she took from her house, filled with the tools of her trade. Guns.

Unzipping her jacket Mikasa put on the bulletproof vest, making sure that it sat snugly on her body. A million dollars was nice money, but she had no intention of dying for it. Next, she pulled out two guns from the bag, checking their condition, and putting them in the holsters under her arms. Last was the assault rifle, her personal favorite. With a practiced motion of her hand, she screwed the silencer on, retrieving a few spare magazines and stuffing them into her pockets. There, now she was as ready as she could be. Getting out of the car, she closed the door, eyeing the warehouse. Showtime.

The night hid her rather well as she sneaked along the side, avoiding the guards who seemed more intent of keeping warm than doing their jobs. Reaching the back door, she aimed down the sights, eyeing the one that she couldn’t move past. She whistled. Curious, the man turned towards the sound, hand falling to his waist, trying to wrench his weapon free. Mikasa shot him twice, one to the chest and one to the head, the suppressor barking into the darkness. The Russian folded without a sound, body crumbling on the ground. Moving swiftly, she crouched down to search him, grabbing a key from his pocket. It fit the lock perfectly, turning and letting her in. It was dimly lit inside, and she took a moment to let her vision adjust, continuing in her search after. There were barrels, most likely filled with fish, stacked all around, the air rancid with oil and fat. She walked past them, making no sound at all, listening for anything that would give away the location of her mark. A scream rattled her, as she crouched in fear of being spotted, but soon another followed, and she realized that the sound had nothing to do with her. Creeping to the source, Mikasa soon reached something that looked like a storage room, door unguarded and wide open, letting her peek inside. 

There was a man, tied to a chair, with long hair obscuring his features from view. Another guy, tattooed brute, was at the moment having a fun time of beating the prisoner’s face to a pulp. 

“Not so funny now, huh?”, he said with a heavy eastern accent, hitting him again. “Fucking joker.”

The sitting guy spat out some blood, grimacing against the pain.

“It’s hard to talk when you keep shoving your fist to my face Dimitri.”

That only seemed to rile him further.

“It’s Dimitar!”, he shouted, punching him in the stomach, making him double over. Grabbing a fistful of his long hair, he pulled his face up, growling right into his ear. “You wont laugh when we start cutting off your fingers to deliver to your Reiss bitch, asshole. I’ll make sure that they go slow.”

“You guys getting paid for parts?”, somehow, the prisoner managed to grin, “Maybe you should cut off my dick then, although I doubt that you have big enough box.” 

“You fucking…”

Whatever Dimitar wanted to say would remain a mystery, because Mikasa picked just that time to shoot him in the back. He folded, just like the guy guarding the back door. Kicking him out of the way, Mikasa closed the distance to the chair, pulling the hair away from the prisoner’s face to get a good look. The first thing she noticed was his green eyes, blazing into hers, somehow looking clean even amidst all the blood. 

“Eren Yeager?”, she asked, hoping that this is the guy she Is looking for. Otherwise she just killed two Russians for nothings.

“That’s me.”, he said, looking her up and down, “And what are you, an angel? More likely a Valkyrie with all the guns, huh? Am I going to Valhalla?”

“Stuff it.”, she hissed, but before she could start looking for a way to free him, Eren’s eyes widened as he looked over her shoulder, making her turn quickly. 

That move saved her life, as the knife that was supposed to stab her in the neck missed, her assailant stumbling past with a curse. Dimitar proved to be more resilient than she expected, silently standing up from the ground after she shot him, now attacking her with a feral expression and long bladed knife in his hand. She took a wider stance, trying to get a good shot at him, but he was a fast one, despite his size. With the speed of an attacking snake, he jumped at her, slashing wide, making her drop the gun to defend herself. Their bodies collided and they fell on the ground in a heap, tangled together. In a normal fight, Mikasa was sure that she could take him, with her vast knowledge of martial arts, but like this, wrestling together, the superior weight and muscle mass of the Russian overcame her. Dimitar rolled on top, grabbing the pommel of the knife with both hands and pushing with all his might, trying to stab Mikasa into the face. She caught his wrists, her strength straining against him, but the tip of the blade kept descending, closer and closer.

“You. Asian. Whore.”, he growled through the gritted teeth, muscles taut beneath his skin.

She couldn’t hold him back, he was too strong. With a scream, she redirected her push sideways instead of right against it, and the blade missed, cutting into her cheek instead, right beneath the eye. The pain shot through her body, but she ignored it, the cold dedication easily soothing the burn. Mikasa twisted, squirmed, and managed to weasel from underneath the guy, getting free. The brute stood up, the knife still firmly held in his fist, turning back towards Mikasa with an evil grin. But she wouldn’t wait for him. Rolling to the side, Mikasa reached underneath her arm, pulling out the handgun, and emptying the magazine right into Dimitar’s broad chest. Slowly, as if he was still coming to terms with his terminal wounds, he took one last step forward, before dropping to his knees, eyes full of hate.

“Fuck…. You….”, he breathed out, finally falling on his face and remaining motionless.

Collecting her bearings, Mikasa scrambled to her feet, realizing one thing. The handguns had no suppressors, unlike the assault rifle. The guards outside surely heard her. With a curse, she grabbed the knife, crouching behind Eren to cut him free, the blade biting through the bindings. 

“You’re bleeding.”, he noticed when they were face to face, hand reaching out to touch her cut cheek. But she shook him away. 

“There are people coming.”, Mikasa said, already hearing the cries of alarm. Pulling out her other gun, she offered it to him. “Can you shoot?”

“No, I’m sorry. Never held a weapon in my life.”

Now was certainly not the time to teach him. Reloading the first weapon that she shot Dimitar with, she took a firm hold on both guns, one in each hand, swiftly walking out of the room.

“Follow me.”

Eren was right behind her, as she found a decent cover behind the fish barrels, eyeing the main entrance. As expected, the door soon flew open, the square filling with figures screaming in Russian. Taking a deep breath, she picked her targets and pulled the triggers. Hell began. Bullets flying past, hitting the wall, hitting the barrels, but never burrowing into the flesh. Unlike her shots. Years of training paying off, she picked the guards one by one, blood rushing in her ears. Crouching back behind the cover to reload, she risked a quick peek at Eren, who was staring at the bloodbath around him with wide eyes. He didn’t seem scared, but certainly not in his element either.

“Stay hidden.”, she whispered, earing a quick nod from him. 

Guns at the ready, Mikasa straightened, dropping two more Russians dumb enough to try and get the drop on her. Their lines must be thinning, she realized as she scanned the interior of the warehouse, looking for more. The number was low. Way too low. Zero to be exact. Where were they? As on cue, the back door slammed open, a surprise attack, and Mikasa whirled to meet it. Too slow. The bullets hit her in the chest, knocking the air out of her, throwing her against the barrel, one of the guns flying from her hand, sliding over the floor. Before she could react, more shots rang, this time the fire flaring in her arm and leg. Fight against it, fuck the pain. You can lick your wounds later. Fight, or you won’t survive. Fight!

Screaming in defiance, she aimed her remaining gun, pulling the trigger at the surprise party. And they fell, one by one, until a last shadow remained in her vision. But when she tried shooting him, the sound every assassin dreads appeared in her ears. The click of an empty magazine. The Russian finally realized that she was out, picking up his gun from the ground where he dropped it during her counterattack, grinning. Exhausted, beaten, out of options, Mikasa let her empty weapon fall on the floor, sighing. Well, she gave it her best shot. At least the money will go to Levi now, as per her last will, and she chuckled imagining the surprise on his face when he sees the figure. Enjoy the cash, midget. A gun fired.

Instead of pain, as she expected, the shadow staggered and fell, remaining motionless. Tiredly turning her head to the side, she saw that Eren was holding the pistol she dropped, barrel smoking. Seemingly snapping out of his trance, he crouched down to be on level with her, eyes traveling over her body.

“And you said that you never held a gun in your life.”, she muttered, “Liar.”

“Don’t speak.”, Eren ordered her, fingers traveling over the holes in her body. “You’re hurt.”

“Thanks for the diagnosis doc.”, Mikasa coughed, feeling weaker than she ever did, “You think my insurance will cover it?”

“I have to get you out of here.”, ignoring the quip, Eren pulled Mikasa up to her feet, letting her wrap her arm around his shoulders. Together, they hobbled out of the warehouse and to her car, where he let her sit down at the passenger seat. But as he tried getting in to drive, she stopped him.

“My prints….”, she whispered, “Blood.”

“Right, give me a second.”

Pushing against her wounds to limit the bleeding, she waited, until finally he appeared, holding her discarded pistol and assault rifle and throwing them in the back seat. 

“Dumped the fish all over the place where you bled. No one will notice it.”

“Good.”

“You know where the nearest hospital is?”, he asked as he started the car. Out of nowhere an iron hold appeared on his upper arm, Mikasa’s fingers squeezing him with surprising strength. 

“No hospitals.”

“But…”

“No. Hospitals.”

“Fucking hell. Fine!”, gritting his teeth, he watched her let go of his hand, wincing against the pain, “Where do you live?”

Half conscious, she managed to guide him, while Eren kept making sure that she doesn’t fall asleep. Reaching their destination, he helped her up the stairs, finally making it up to her small flat, where he sat her down on the table. 

“First aid kit?”

“Bathroom.”

The pain was subsiding, as the numbness started taking over. Before she could lie down to rest, which would most likely be her end, Eren was back, clutching the box with a red cross on it. With careful fingers, he stripped her from the bulletproof vest and the shirt underneath, pulling off her jeans after. Unlike she was expecting, Eren didn’t fuss over the wounds, as he seemed to switch to a full-on doctor mode, lips pressed into a thin line. 

“One went clean through, but you have a bullet in your shoulder and in your thigh. A cut on the cheek from bladed weapon. All four wounds bleeding profusely.”

“Unlucky me.”

He didn’t reply. 

“I’ll have to get the bullets out.”, he looked at her, “It will hurt like a bitch.”

She tried to shrug, but her shoulder didn’t move.

“Hurts already.”

“Right. You got any booze?”

“Fridge.”

He moved fast, retrieving a bottle of something strong Mikasa couldn’t identify in her state, handing it to her and turning the stove on. As she was about to ask why, he grabbed a kitchen knife and started heating the blade, answering that question. Right, she was not looking forward to having that jammed into her wounds. Taking a long drink from the bottle, she hoped that the alcohol will dull her senses at least a little bit, while Eren cleaned her wounds. Grabbing the heated knife after, he looked up at her.

“Ready?”

Collecting her remaining courage, Mikasa nodded. Nodding back, Eren delved in, inserting the tip of his knife into the shot. To his surprise, she didn’t scream, groaning in pain instead while her fingers clutched the bottle until her knuckles bled white. He worked fast, experienced, the blade finding and removing the bullet before she could truly start dreading her situation. Moving to her shoulder, the burn scorched her, making Mikasa grit her teeth. When the other bullet popped out, she almost fainted. 

“Hey, hey.”, a hand slapped her cheek, the uncut one, waking her up, “Stay with me.”

“This is bullshit…”

“Sure is. Now I gotta stitch it, all the bullet holes and the cut.”

“Get on with it then.”, she was floating, out of her body, the exhaustion combining with the pain and drunkenness making her feel high, as on drugs. The pricks of the needle were hardly noticeable, and Eren’s work was clean, much faster than her own. She closed a number of wounds on her body in the past, but the neat rows of stitches the doctor created were almost pretty. After wrapping her up in bandages, Eren offered to carry her to bed, but she declined sharply, trying to keep the last remnants of her dignity intact. But when she hopped of the table, the pain from the two bullet wounds in her leg shot up, making her stumble and fall, right into his embrace. Begrudgingly, Mikasa allowed him to carry her after. Some assassin she was, tucked in a bed by her own mark. 

“Fucking Russians,”, she growled as he carefully laid her down, making sure to avoid all the many hurting points of her body. The bullets into her torso might have been blocked by the vest, but they still left massive bruises behind. 

“Bulgarians.”, he corrected her.

“Huh?”

“They were Bulgarians, not Russians.”

The laughter came slow, shaking her body, the sound leaving her even when she covered her mouth. She was hurt. She was drunk. Her body didn’t feel like her own. And when she looked up, Mikasa noticed that Eren was looking at her with worried expression, those green eyes blazing right into her soul, face so close to hers that she could kiss him. 

So, she did.

Eren was mightily surprised when she pushed her lips onto his, wrapping her arms around his neck. He tasted good, even when it was spoiled a bit by the lingering aftermath of blood, left behind by Dimitar’s care. Falling backwards, she pulled her right with him, until he was hovering over her body, apparently still too stunned to do anything. Only when Mikasa pulled back to breathe, he blinked himself back into reality, eyes widening.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing.”

She tried kissing him again, but he denied her, moving away. 

“You’re hurt.”, he pointed out, matter-of-factly.

“So be gentle.”, again, her mouth chased his, and this time she caught her prey, once again closing them in a lip lock. For all his talk, Eren seemed to be falling for her too, working with her, tongue meeting hers hesitantly. 

“We shouldn’t be doing this.”, he whispered between the kisses, but didn’t try moving away. “We can’t do this.”

Mikasa paused, watching for a second, as he hovered over her with flushed cheeks and dilated pupils. He was right, they shouldn’t be doing this. It made no sense. She was hurt, badly, high on the pain, and he just spent the last days tied to a chair, while someone did their best to rearrange his face. She shrugged, not even feeling the bite in her shoulder anymore.

“I know.”

This time it was Eren who moved first, pressing her into the mattress while planting a string of kisses from the corner of her mouth down to her neck, sighing into the hollow there, and Mikasa felt a fire ignite between her legs, so much different than the pain, one that she haven’t felt for…. well, never actually. Tugging at his hair to get his mouth back to hers, she let her primal instincts take over, fully surrendering to them. This is going to be a long night. 

 

Everything hurt. Her shoulder, her leg, her head, well, basically her whole body. Groaning, Mikasa opened her eyes, seeing Eren pacing in front of the bed, reminding her of a caged lion, hands running through his long hair in nervous gestures. 

“Morning.”

He stopped in his tracks, turning towards her. 

“Morning.”

“What are you doing?”

“Last night was a mistake.”, he blurted out instead of answering, his features having total anguish written in them, “I’m engaged, and I don’t even know you.”

Mikasa shook her head.

“Chill out, will you? Last night was nothing, just a bit of fun after the job.”, she threw the cover away, hanging her legs over the edge of the bed. “If you won’t tell anyone, I wont either. Okay?”

“So we just what, pretend that nothing happened?”

“Yep.”, managing to stand on her own, Mikasa pushed past him and into the bathroom, making his cheeks color a bit, because after the events of the last night, she was understandably naked. Stepping into the shower, she turned it on, not minding the way it wet her bandages.

“I noticed the tattoo on your wrist.”, Eren called from the other side of the door, trying to keep the conversation going for some reason. “It looks nice.”

All right, enough is enough. Turning the water off, Mikasa stepped out of the shower, opening the door to come face to face with him. That tattoo was a personal thing, family mark, one that no one was supposed to see, especially not a target. 

“Shut the fuck up, okay?”, she reached out, poking him in the chest, “We fucked, and that’s it. There’s nothing before, nothing after, nothing at all. Now I’m completely fine with pretending that we never did anything, but if you want to keep crying about it, that’s fine by me. But stop trying to get to know me, or some shit, because I don’t give a fuck about you.”

He seemed hurt by her outburst, taking a step back.

“I…”

“You are nothing to me, understand? Just a job, and well-paid at that, that’s it. Now let me shower in peace and go back to your golden castle to your fucking princess and be done with this once and for all.”

She slammed the door right in front of his face. Returning to the shower, Mikasa let the hot water run over her body, soothing the muscles, finally helping her relax. And relaxation brought back the memories of the previous evening, the things that she was about to pretend never happened. Mikasa was never big on sex. She had her first experience at fifteen years, drunk, not even into the guy, just wanting to know what the whole fuss was about. Frankly, she was disappointed. After that, she decided to try the other side of the fence, but girls didn’t satisfy her either. But last night, with Eren, everything was so much different, so much better, even with her body hurting from the wounds she got. He managed to be gentle but rough at the same time, taking her breath away with how he moved, how he touched her, how he praised her. Mikasa never felt this loved, this appreciated, this beautiful, as he kept whispering into her ear, like when she was with him. He kissed each and every one of her many scars, traced them with his fingers, marveling how tough she was. It was stupid, but still she felt her heart fluttering upon hearing all that. Eren awoke something in her, something she thought long dead, feelings she never knew before drowning her in their intensity. Honestly speaking, it was the best night of her life, and she would totally do it again, if given the chance. Mikasa sighed. Sucks that she never will get one, as her dream lover will now return to the rich heiress, leaving her alone once more. Ah well, at least no one can take her memories. 

Leaving the shower, she dried herself, putting on some clothes before opening the door, not wanting to make Eren feel awkward any more than she had to. Once out however, she was hit by a pleasant smell that led her to the kitchen, where he was standing in front of the fire, pan in hand. 

“I made some omelets.”, he said, pointing at the food piled at the small table she had. 

She shook her head.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I want to.”, he looked at her, a small shy smile on his face. “Please.”

She wouldn’t make his ask her twice. Sitting down, wincing a bit at the pain, she dug in, discovering another fact about the man she saved. He made a pretty damn good omelet. Eren didn’t talk until he finished cooking, coming to lean on the table afterwards, looking down at her. 

“Listen, before we forget about last night, as we said we will, I just want to say something.”, this time when he smiled at her, there was no trace of shyness, “You were amazing, and I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you.”

Mikasa swallowed what she had in her mouth, nodding.

“You were okay too.”

Quite an understatement, but she had no intention of letting him know the truth.

“All right. Let’s forget about it.”

“Let’s.”

Why was she feeling so hurt inside when he nodded back and sat down, eating his own food, she couldn’t tell. 

 

After the breakfast, Eren rebandaged her wounds, informing her that no infection seemed to set in, thank god, and she should recover quickly. Then there was only one thing left to do. Eren’s exit. As he had nothing on him, not even a phone, Mikasa called him a cab, handing over some change for a payment. 

“I’ll pay you back.”, he joked, holding up the few dollars, making her laugh. That was, until she realized that it was a joke because they wouldn’t see each other, ever again. He hesitated, standing in the door, half turning back towards her, seemingly unable to leave her flat fully. But there was no other way. He had to leave, go back to his life, the one that had no Mikasa the assassin in it, no kidnappings and no shootouts with dozens of dead Russians. Apologies, Bulgarians. 

“Go.”, she whispered with finality, and he obeyed, for the last time. The door clicked, and she was alone. 

Again.

 

It’s weird that one night can change. Somehow, she missed him, after spending not even a day in his presence. She missed his eyes, the green gaze that seemed to look right into her heart, his touch as he took care of her wounds, and most of all she missed him in bed, lying with open eyes, the memories of the night that never happened running wild. They didn’t help her sleep, not at all. Why did she even miss him so much? A day with a person, and suddenly they seemed to imprint into your very being, making the fact that you will never see them again physically painful. What was he, like her soulmate or some shit? Yea right, she totally believed in stuff like that.

Mikasa spent the next month recovering, not leaving her flat much, making sure that her body healed properly. To her surprise, a new string of payments appeared in her account, making up another million together, with a small thank you note from Krista Reiss. Maybe she was lonely, but Mikasa was rich. Spending big was never something she did, as it drew attention, but she indulged herself a bit, buying some new guns from her supplier, a new microwave, and a new bike. It was the little things that made her happy. Under the pressure of the nightly memories, Mikasa caved in and bought a Hitachi wand, helping herself a little to quiet rest. It was far from the Eren experience, but it was better than nothing. 

 

After two months she flew to the city where Levi lived, finding him in the exact same trailer she grew up in. They drank beers together and shot the empty cans after, and Mikasa gifted him a new rifle, one he happily accepted.

“You know, I could get you out of here, I have the money.”, she offered, watching her uncle take aim.

“Good for you, but I’m not moving.”, he replied, nailing a perfect shot after, lowering the gun. “I’m happy here.”

“You live in a trailer.”, she pointed out.

“So what. In a city I couldn’t sit on my porch and shoot coyotes at night.”

Mikasa couldn’t argue with that. 

 

At the end of the third month, her body was fully healed, and she was getting ready to get back in the action, the stillness of not working boring her like nothing else. Especially when the silence of her flat reminded her of that single evening where she felt so much different from the rest of her life, so much better, the green eyes still interrupting her sleep from time to time. On a quiet morning, just as she bit down into the cold pizza that got left over from last evening’s dinner, someone knocked at her door. Opening, wondering who the hell it is, she was greeted by the same blaze that seemed to light her body on fire.

“Eren?”, she took a step back, wondering if she was dreaming, but a quick pinch to her forearm didn’t wake her up. 

“Hi.”, he smiled at her, “Long time no see.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I don’t know?”, he shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe that he was really standing here either. “I just… I just can’t stop thinking about you.”

“What are you…?”

But Eren didn’t let her finish, interrupting her.

“Please, just listen for a minute. I know that you said that you don’t care about me at all, that I don’t mean anything to you, just another job to do, that the thing between us didn’t happen.”, he took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, I can’t just forget it after all. I thought I could, and I tried, I really did, but….”, his cheeks colored, the tiny blush that Mikasa found downright adorable, “I kept seeing your face, even when I was with Krista, no matter how hard I tried to prevent that. You know, I thought that I loved her, before I met you, but now I know that I was wrong. I couldn’t keep lying to her, so I came clean, and we broke up after.” Eren looked up, meeting her confused grey gaze, suddenly bold and unashamed. “I don’t know you, Mikasa, I have no idea who you are, what you like and dislike, what the tattoo on your wrist means. And the three months made me realize one thing. I want to know you, I want to understand you. Because…. because I think I love you.”, a bit of uncertainty entered his face, and he swallowed nervously, “And if you don’t like me, please, just tell me now so I can stop deluding myself.”

Mikasa was silent, blinking the sudden moisture from her eyes, covering her mouth with a hand, having no idea how to respond. Not hearing anything, Eren redirected his gaze back at his feet, shuffling on the spot. 

“Please say something.”

She didn’t say a word. Instead, Mikasa reached out, taking a firm hold of his face and pulling it to her own, kissing him, just like those months back. But this time, Eren reciprocated immediately, hands falling to her waist, embracing her, the warmth filling her inside and out. 

“We can get to know each other as much as we want later.”, a heated whisper left her mouth, head already filled with sinful thoughts, the same that kept her awake over the months of their separation, “Right now there’s something else I want to do with you.”

With that, she pulled him through the door, kicking them close behind him. And after a day spent with exploration of each other’s bodies, when she felt so sated as one can physically ever be, Mikasa was tracing shapes into the skin of Eren’s chest while he had his nose buried in her hair, breathing in the unique scent she had, legs tangled together. When his hand moved up and down a little bit over the firm curve of her waist, rubbing small soothing circles on her hipbone, she finally realized what that warm feeling inside her heart means.

She was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been some time since I did a oneshot, hope I didn’t lose my touch :D


	14. Heartbeat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: T  
> Setting: Modern AU
> 
> Prompt: EreMika; Eren listening to Mikasa's heartbeat

Car tires screeched as Eren took the first exit, speeding up onto a highway, leaving the airport behind. Scanning the traffic, he picked a good timing and squeezed between two trucks, successfully entering the high-speed zone. Great, because he really wanted to step on it now. In the end, it was rather worthless, because it wasn’t like she would just let him drive in peace.

“Eren, why are you acting like this?”, Mikasa asked from the adjacent seat, reading his expression, or trying to at least, since he did his best to avert his face from hers. 

“Like what?”, he half-growled, tightening his grip on the wheel. Just a tiny bit.

“We haven’t seen each other for months, and all you can do is “Hi”? Seriously?”

“Eh, I just don’t feel like talking.”

But she was already shaking her head.

“No, I know you. You’re pissed off about something. Tell me.”

“No…”

“Tell me!”

There it was, the steel in her voice to match her eyes. But Eren didn’t feel like caving in, so he ignored her, focusing on the driving for a change. After all, it was dangerous to lose your cool on the road, they can argue later.

“Eren, please.”, Mikasa’s voice softened, and he could feel her hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing, “I’ve been on this tour for months, I’m tired of it all. Performing, travelling, I just want to go home with you and rest.”

“Well what’s stopping you?”

“You! Acting like this! Best I could see was your face on the computer screen for this long, and when I come back then you won’t even hug me?”

There was pain her voice, hurt and confusion, and no matter how hard he tried, Eren couldn’t hold back anymore. He was never bad at saying no to her, not since childhood.

“I just…. Missed you, and then I saw the videos you guys did… and just some talk.”, he sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“The videos? You mean the music ones?”

“You know that there’s exactly fifteen different angles on your ass in the latest thing? And the outfits you and the girls wore… Revealing.”

He did try his best not to be bitter about it. Eren knew what Mikasa’s job was. She was in a band, they were idols, this is what they did. Yet it was hard to see it in the rational light, when the body of the woman you loved was the subject of talk in the celebrity magazines for the last months. 

“Sex sells, Eren, you know that. We are new in the business, and need all the attention we can get, in any way we can acquire it. Those videos, that’s the easy way to get it, that’s how we sell our records, that’s how we got the tour. To make it big we must do them. Jean says…”

“Jean?”, he interrupted her, frowning, “Who’s that?”

“Our new agent.”

“So, he’s the one responsible for that visage, huh? I can see why he would do that.”

“I don’t like what you are implying.”

“Oh really? Well, maybe you’ll remember me, when next time he doesn’t ask you to throw your top away during the performance but meet him afterhours to “discuss” your future with the band and he’s going to require some oral persuasion.”

“You really think I’d ever do that?”, Mikasa was angry now, and it showed in the both her tone and the volume of her voice, “What do you think I am? A whore?”

“Yea well…”, Eren scoffed, still refusing to meet her eyes, “If I judged only from those music vids, I’d say that would be a pretty accurate description.”

“Eren…”

“It’s not very pleasant,”, finally he turned, matching her outraged gaze with his own, fingers gripping the wheel hard, “ to go for a beer after work and listen to another of those fucking conversation next table, where the patrons are watching you shake your ass on the fucking TV and discuss between themselves how much they’d love to run a train on that thing.”

“I…”, her eyes were glistening, and Eren was almost feeling sorry for his outburst, but then they snapped over his shoulder and widened not in reaction to his words, but to something else entirely. 

“Watch out!”

There was a loud horn sound, squealing of tires, and a crash, the impact of the truck from the side sent the car flying. Metal creaked, and when the roof met solid ground, Eren’s vision went black.

Shouting woke him, a man’s voice, and soon two strong hands helped him, pulling him out of the wreckage and onto the grass. 

“Jesus man, you okay?”, a tall male silhouette asked that, in a shaky voice that suggested he wasn’t really okay either, “You ran right into my path, I had no time react! Fuck!” 

The trucker ran his hands through his hair, pacing back and forth, but blinking his eyes open, Eren noticed one way more important thing. He was alone, Mikasa nowhere in sight.

“Where’s…”, he coughed, lungs and throat hurting, “Where’s she?”

The man stopped in his steps, looking down at him.

“There was someone else in the car with you?”

Ignoring his own body, Eren rolled over, staring through the mangled mass of metal and plastic that used to be his car, searching for the familiar flash of pale skin or black hair. There, still strapped to the seat, Mikasa’s head was hanging at an odd angle, a massive scratch on one cheek, eyes closed, and she was completely unresponsive, not reacting to his shouts in any way.

“Call an ambulance!”, he screamed at the trucker, who quickly nodded and pulled out his phone, punching in the number with trembling fingers. Turning his attention back at the car, Eren crawled back in, ignoring the danger it presented to himself, and undid the belt buckle, pulling Mikasa’s limp body out. She was still unconscious, even when he slapped her lightly, hoping to wake her up, and when Eren pressed his ear right above her heart, he was shocked by what he heard. 

Nothing. She had no pulse. 

Instincts kicking in, even through the shock, he began giving her CPR, hands steady in their movements, much unlike how the thoughts raced inside his head. 

Compressions. Open her mouth. Breathe in. Listen.

Nothing.

Clenching his teeth, he continued, not ready, not able to accept this. Mikasa couldn’t die, not here, on a side of a fucking road, just because he was being an asshole to her and didn’t watch where he was driving. 

Compressions. Breathe in. Listen.

Nothing.

“C’mon Miki, you can’t leave me here. I don’t want to go on without you. Please…”

Compressions. Breathe in. Listen.

Nothing.

“She’s gone man.”, the trucker appeared next to him, clapping him on the shoulder, trying to show support. “I’m sorry for your loss, but…”

“Shut the fuck up.”, shaking the touch away, Eren continued his efforts, ignoring whatever the man said. With a sigh, the trucker took a few steps back, leaving him to his grief. Or so he thought. 

“Please, I love you, so fucking much.”, Compressions. Breathe in. “Don’t do this to me.”

Listen.

There! With a joy he never felt before in his life, Eren could hear it, the soft fluttering of a pulse, unsteady, but there. She was back, she didn’t leave him. Sitting back on his heels, Eren closed his eyes, tears flowing down his cheeks, while the sounds of sirens grew steadily closer. Soon after there were voices all around, medics left and right, picking up Mikasa’s body and putting it on a stretcher and up in the ambulance, giving her the immediate first care. 

“Sir?”, another touch on his shoulder, this time from the medic, prompting Eren to look up. The man gestured towards Eren’s leg. “Your wound…”

Following his gaze, Eren saw that there was a big piece of metal, piercing right through his thigh, blood leaking everywhere. In his rush to save Mikasa, he didn’t even feel the pain, but now it began manifesting, white-hot needles of agony. 

“Oh…”, was all Eren managed to say, watching the redness gush out. 

Then he fainted.

 

He shouldn’t even be up yet, as the nurses told him, he got beaten up pretty bad, and his leg was still hurting, but once he heard that Mikasa woke up, nothing could keep Eren in the hospital bed. Hobbling with the help of a cane, he found her room, managing to cross the short distance to the chair next to her bed without falling once. Her eyes were on him from the moment Eren entered the room, but Mikasa didn’t say anything, until he managed to sit down, cursing under his breath when his leg protested the motion. Then, he could finally look up and take in her visage, noticing all the pain he caused by being a total asshole. The cut on her cheek was bandaged, and she had multiple dark spots on her face, standing out against the pale skin. From what Eren heard, or rather managed to squeeze out of the nurses and doctors, Mikasa got out with severe bruising and rattled bones, but nothing was broken. The worst was the shock to her system, making her heart stop, but Eren’s on-site CPR managed to kick it back on, saving her life. 

“Hi.”, she finally breached the silence, managing a half-smile before the sting in her cheek made her stop.

“Hey.”, he shot back, redirecting his gaze back on her face. “You look great.”

“They say I’ll have a nasty scar.”

“I bet it will look great on you.”

“Yeah right.”, she giggled, “Jean will have a stroke when he sees me.”

The mention of her manager did bring back the memories of the crash, and the conversation that led to it. The stupid argument that was totally Eren’s fault, and almost killed them both. 

“Miki, I…”, clearing his throat, he reached out, taking her hand between his, squeezing. “I…”

But the words just died inside his throat, over and over, because seeing her in the white bed, with the machinery around her, the reality of just how close to losing her forever seemed to finally hit him, making everything he could say feel hollow. Because how could words ever make up for this? How could he ever express the terrible feeling of loss and hopelessness he felt, in those cursed seconds when she was lying dead in his hands. Back then, it was like the universe just stopped existing, time and space felt meaningless, because without her, what was the point of going on with his life? Eren took a shuddering breath, hoping to fill the hole that seemed to appear in the middle of his heart with oxygen, yet it hardly helped. 

“I’m so fucking sorry.”

And the angel, the saint she was, Mikasa reached out, wiping the tears Eren didn’t even realize he was shedding from the corners of his eyes, the tiny smile she had shining more radiantly than any sun.

“It’s all right, I forgive you.”

But it wasn’t all right, not until she gently pulled him closer, allowing him to rest his head on her chest, right above her heart, to listen to the steady rhythm, soothing as nothing else to Eren’s ears. Because she was still here, alive, she didn’t leave him all alone in this cruel world. Mikasa didn’t say anything when his tears began anew, drenching her gown, she just dragged her fingers through his hair, whispering that it’s okay. And the heartbeat, that was more beautiful than any music Eren ever heard in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had another idea which i ended up scraping in favor of this one, but then my beta said that he really liked the first one.  
> ...  
> So, I'll edit the draft into something readable this evening (prolly) and you can expect a different take on the prompt tomorrow.  
> Gonna be a really short one, I don't want to expand it too much. It's kinda angsty. ;(


	15. Heartbeat v2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The promised second version of the prompt.  
> It ain't much but it's honest work.  
> ;)
> 
> Enjoy

Everything hurt. Breathing, movement, her skin felt clammy, and there was a dull pressure on her chest. She wasn’t new to feeling like shit, fighting with health problems her whole life, but the surgery was supposed to make feel better, wasn’t it? With a gasp, she opened her eyes, greatly startling the woman sitting next to the bed.

“Krista? Baby? You awake?”

A face she knew intimately floated into the view, all freckles and worried eyes. 

“Ym…”, with a totally parched throat, the sound died inside it, and her girlfriend was quick to pass her a cup of water, returning her ability to speak after a few sips. 

“Ymir,”, Krista tried again, succeeding this time, “How did it go?”

“Oh, the surgery went amazing, even with the short notice.”, Ymir settled on the side of the bed again, dragging her fingers through Krista’s disheveled blonde hair, “Apparently the doctor working on you is some kind of prodigy in the field, he had you fixed in record time.”

“That’s good..”, Krista swallowed again, her mouth still hurting a bit as she spoke, “What about the heart, did they tell you anything? I’ve been on the list for such a long time, and then they just pull a donor that fits me perfectly out of nowhere?”

“I have no idea, but the doctor can tell you more. He should be here soon.”, a bit of humor reentered Ymir’s eyes, and she leaned closer whispering, “He’s hot.”

“Oh, shut up.”, Krista pushed her away, but she was giggling herself. 

As on cue, the door opened, letting in a tall figure in a white coat, holding a stack of papers. 

“Miss Reiss, it’s good to see you awake.”

Her caretaker had a deep voice, long brown hair pulled into a bun, and quick intelligent eyes that scanned the machines next to her bed, taking in her vitals. For reasons unknown to her however, he refused to look anywhere near Krista, confusing her a bit. 

“How are you feeling?”, he asked before she could wheeze out any of her own questions.

“I’m g… good. My chest…”, she tapped it lightly to indicate the exact spot, “Pressure.”

“That’s to be expected after such an invasive procedure. But I would still do a checkup, to see if everything is going fine.”, he looked away from the displays, nodding at Ymir, “If we could get some privacy…”

“I’ll be right back.”, her girlfriend whispered to Krista’s ear, kissing her cheek after and walking out of the room, leaving just the two of them there.

“I heard that you did the surgery yourself.”, the blonde began, trying to get the doctors attention as he moved around her in swift practiced movements, examining her.

“I did.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Just doing my job.”

He still wouldn’t look at her, and met with such an unresponsive conversation partner, Krista fell silent, not sure how to continue. She still had tons of questions, but judging from the way this man replied, he wouldn’t tell her much. Better ask someone else once he leaves.

“Just one last thing.”, pulling out a familiar device from his pocket, he plugged his ears with the phonendoscope, pressing the metal part right above Krista’s heart. Most likely to focus better, he closed his eyes, his body going completely still. That’s when Krista noticed something that took her by a complete surprise, a thing she wasn’t expecting in the least. He was crying.

“Doctor? Are you okay?”, she asked, panic rising. Why was he acting like that? Was the surgery botched? Was her new heart already giving out, just as her old was? Was she really going to die, after all she went through, all the treatments, pills and examinations, were they for nothing in the end? “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s all right…”, he had trouble speaking through the tears, “The heart is amazing, strong… Just like the person it belonged to.”

“What are you…”

He finally did look at her, and his eyes were full of pain, so much of it that Krista wondered how he can even keep going with this much suffering inside him.

“It was my girlfriend’s, her name was Mikasa Ackerman, and she was the most beautiful human being that ever lived.”, the doctor took a shuddering breath, “She died in a car crash, a stupid trucker who had too much to drink… She wanted to help others after her dead too, the angel she was, and her heart was perfect for you. I… I just had to… I had to do it myself.”

Running out of words, he shook his head, overcome by pain.

“I’m so sorry…”, Krista whispered, wanting, needing to ease his agony, just a tiny bit, “What can I do?”

“Just let me listen to her a little while longer.”

So, Krista remained motionless, lying in her bed, with a doctor choking back his sobs standing above her, phonendoscope in hand. And while this Mikasa Ackerman, her savior, was gone forever, she promised to her that this little piece of her life, that was now beating inside Krista’s own chest, that she will treasure it forever. Because seeing the broken man next to her, Krista realized one thing. Not only one person died in that fatal car crash, but two. Whoever this man was, before the terrible occurrence, that person was gone forever, never to return.


	16. EM White day - 1 : Date/Chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo everyone,
> 
> After some thinking (face) I decided to take part in the ongoing EreMika event, because I have nothing better to do. As I guess everyone who knows me even a little bit expected, I did so via writing a short fic, and I hope that you will enjoy it, alongside other submissions from other wonderful content creators.
> 
> ;)

“So, what do you think of the new transfer student?”

“Who? The girl?”

Walking next to him on the road, Armin shook his head in disbelief.

“Even you can’t be that ignorant Eren. She’s been going with us to classes for the last three weeks, and you want to tell me that you didn’t even notice her?”

“Unlike you I don’t instantly jump on any female I see.”, he nudged his friend’s shoulder with a grin, “Womanizer.”

“Hey, all I’m saying that you should try talking to her sometime.”, Armin went on, ignoring the joke, “She’s nice.”

“Eh, I’m kind of scared by the whole dead inside visage. That girl even paints her nails black, I mean, who does that in current year?”

“First you tell me that you didn’t notice her in the class, but somehow you do know the color of her nails.”, stroking his chin, Armin put on his best thinking face, “Interesting…”

Caught in his lie, Eren opted to poke his friend instead of answering, but Armin’s suspicious look wouldn’t go away. Of course he noticed the girl, hell, he was taken with her from the first moment she entered the class, muttering her name with downcast eyes. But Mikasa was just so distant, not really talking to anyone, or making any attempts to make new friends, just sitting at her desk, usually reading or listening to music, completely obvious to her surroundings. How was he supposed to approach her? Armin on the other hand seemed to have no problems with that, teaming up with Sasha and making friends with the new girl right on the second day. And now Jean was getting bold too, and that was just something Eren wouldn’t ever stomach. He had to do something, and fast. 

“Listen, Ar,”, he began, carefully choosing the words so his friend wouldn’t catch wind of anything, “when you talk to Mikasa, did she ever mention something she liked? Or, you know, didn’t hate as much as the rest at least?

“Oh? Why are you asking?”

Eren didn’t even have to look up to hear that the corners or Armin’s mouth were slowly but surely creeping upwards. The attempted secrecy didn’t really work out after all. 

“No reason.”, he muttered towards the ground, ears burning red.

The desire to continue teasing was strong, but in the end the compassionate heart of Armin won, forcing him to bite back all the quips that appeared inside his head and produce a solid answer instead. 

“Hmmm…”, it was fun to see how Eren was on the edge of his seat, figuratively, hanging on his every word. Didn’t even notice her. Yeah right. Deciding that he tortured him enough, Armin finally opened his mouth.

“She did mention that she likes chocolate.”

That seemed to take him by surprise.

“Chocolate?”

“Yup. Apparently she has a bit of a sweet tooth.”

Out of nowhere, Eren stopped in his tracks, clearing his throat.

“I.. I need to go, Armin, got some stuff to do. See you later?”

“Need to make a quick trip to the shop I take it?”

The blond was openly grinning now, not even bothering with trying to hide it. Dude was so obvious, it was a bit painful to watch. On his part, Eren just shrugged, turning in a different direction and walking away at a brisk pace. Armin can make fun of him all he wants, but he did provide valuable information. Time to make a move.

 

Why, just why did they have to be all out of chocolate. What shop can even do that, nowadays, to not have any in the whole fucking store. Well, all right, he was exaggerating, but just a little bit. They did have one type of the sweets, but only one, so he had no choice but to take it. That was the only reason why he’s sweating on Mikasa’s doorstep right now with a freaking heart-shaped box of chocolates. How will this even look from her perspective? All they did was exchange like three words tops, and now he’s going to appear out of nowhere, bearing this pink monstrosity, asking if she would go out with him. Yeah, not creepy at all. 

Then again, Eren was a doer, not a thinker, so, steeling himself for the inescapable “What the fuck Yeager?”, he raised his hand and knocked, two firm rasps of the knuckles against the wood. Ah, sweet refusals, how he loved them.

For about a minute nothing happened, giving him the faint hope that Mikasa is not home and Eren can retreat while preserving at least a scrap of dignity. But then the door opened, revealing no one else but the subject of his last few dreams, looking even better in reality than the image his mind made up. Her eyes took him in, slowly, until she reached the box he was nervously holding in his hands, widening slightly.

“Hi.”, he croaked, sounding exactly as awkward as he felt right now.

“Hello Eren.”, she greeted him, somehow completely calm and collected, “What brings you here?”

“Uh… You know…”, extending his hands, he offered her the heart, forcing an unnatural smile to appear on his face, “Little bird told me that you like chocolates, and then I saw this at the store while I was shopping for….. stuff. So, I thought that I might pick it up. As a present. For you. Mikasa”

Smooth.

She eyed the object suspiciously, still not sure what this whole thing was about. 

“I appreciate that. But why are you doing this?”

If she was cutting to the chase like this, Eren really had no choice. Now or never.

“I was just wondering if you’d ever like consider going out…. with me?? To do things together, eat, watch a movie, hell I don’t know… We can…”

“Eren,”, she cut into his rambling, “Are you asking me on a date?”

His throat was too dry to answer, so Eren settled on nodding instead, already dreading the answer. The box left his paralyzed hands, as Mikasa took it, inspecting it. 

“Okay.”, she whispered, more to the chocolates than to Eren, who was rather sure that he heard her wrong.

“Huh?”

“I said okay, I’ll go out with you.”, looking up, she met his confused gaze with her own, still seemingly unaffected one, “Is tomorrow okay? After school?”

At this point, Eren would agree to any date or time she decided on.

“Totally.”

“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

The door closed into Eren’s face, while he remained standing on the same spot, brain slowly catching up to reality. Did he just get a date? Pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, he took a few steps back before turning, walking in the direction he assumed was his house. Apparently, miracles do happen sometime. 

On the other side of the door, Mikasa’s back was against the wood, breathing hard, as she pressed the chocolate filled heart above her own, wildly beating one. She still couldn’t believe it. Eren Yeager, her crush, appearing out of nowhere on the doorstep, giving her gifts and asking her out. Sasha can go stuff it, her magic spell must have worked out, because there was no logical explanation for such sudden turn of her fortune. Well, she wouldn’t question her luck. With a spring in her step, Mikasa ran into her room, clutching the box in her slightly trembling fingers. Heart soaring, she fell on the bed, already imagining how amazing their date will be. 

Tomorrow couldn’t be here fast enough.


	17. EM White Day -2 : Flowers/Sneaking Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys wanted a continuation and I (almost) always listen to the comments, cause they make me feel validated.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> So here you go.  
> Enjoy!

There was a sound coming from the window. And another one. And one right after. Not understanding what the hell was going on, Mikasa sat up on the bed, annoyed, putting down the book she was reading to try and investigate. Was it raining outside? But her theory got debunked as soon as she neared the glass, because a small rock landed square in the middle, bouncing off with the same annoying sound she kept hearing. Well, mystery solved. Not raining, just some dumbass throwing pebbles at her window. Swearing to whatever dark god was listening that if she opens and gets hit by a piece of gravel, she will literally climb down the tree and kick the hooligan’s ass, Mikasa clicked the latch and leaned out, squinting into the darkness. It was pretty damn late.

“Miki! Hey, Mikasa, down here!”

If she could pick one person in the whole world that would throw rocks at her house after midnight, it would most likely be her dorky boyfriend. And, lo and behold, the guess would be correct. 

“Eren!”, she hissed down, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Waking you up.”

Even in the dark, she could almost see the smug smile on his face.

“I wasn’t sleeping you ass. What do you want?”

The smile only widened.

“Come down and I’ll tell you.”

Theoretically, she could say no, close the window and go back to the book. Then again, theories didn’t stand well when faced with reality, and while Eren’s plans could range from goofy to straight up illegal, they were always fun. But she wouldn’t make it that easy on him, especially not after he so rudely interrupted her reading. Mikasa was just getting to the juicy part, damn it.

“You do realize that your rock assault could have woken my parents, or much worse, my brother up.”

Down below, Eren shrugged.

“So what?”

“Playing the tough guy now, huh?”, leaning on the windowsill, Mikasa went on, “I do remember that the last time he almost walked in on us, you basically had a heart attack.”

“Let me remind you that he’s a marine, is insanely overprotective of you, and he was just about to catch me with my hand down his little sister’s pants. Literally.”

“I don’t need reminding, I was there.”

Oh, teasing was fun, but Eren didn’t have the time to just stand there and listen to Mikasa pulling out all the embarrassing moments she had on him. With the sheer amount of them, they could very well spend the whole night like this, and that just wouldn’t do. 

“Listen babe, you can sit on that sill the whole night, smirking down at me, or you can get your ass down here, and let me show you why I even bothered coming in the first place.”

Weighing the pros and cons, Mikasa decided to just dump the logic and follow Eren’s call, as it was sometimes needed in their relationship. He wasn’t very good at explaining things, but his plans worked out. Well, most of the time. So, she climbed out, getting a firm hold on the tree and slid down, jumping the last few feet to land in front of her boyfriend, dusting herself off. On his part, all Eren could do was stand and stare, because no matter how many times he saw her do this, the grace she displayed while doing such a mundane task as climbing down a tree was amazing. 

“Cat got your tongue?”, she asked, not yet abandoning her teasing tone.

“I don’t know.”, with a smirk, Eren put his hands around her waist, pulling her flush against him, “Wanna check if I still have it?”

Giggling, Mikasa accepted the offered kiss, and she made extra sure to double check if his tongue was still intact. It would be damn shame to lose it, especially when he could use it so well during kissing and…well, other intimate activities. 

“Was your grand plan just standing here and making out?”, she asked after a few minutes, when Eren didn’t seem to have any intention of going anywhere. And while this was nice and all, she didn’t see the point of going out for this, couldn’t he just climb up into her room as he usually did?

“Erm, no, of course not.”, reluctantly letting go of her, Eren took a step back, breathing in the cold night air to calm himself down. They were dating for like what, three months, but still, every time they kissed his whole mind just went completely blank. This is how it must feel to chew a 5 gum™. 

“Come on, let’s go.”

With that, he took her hand in his and together they started walking, hopefully to where Eren wanted them to be. Mikasa loved the guy, but his sense of direction was pretty terrible. 

“So where are we going?”, she queried, but all Eren did was grin.

“Wait and see.”

With nothing better to do, Mikasa allowed herself to be led, watching as they passed different houses and roads, getting closer to their goal. Just as she was about to try tickling the plan out of Eren, he stopped, apparently very satisfied with himself.

“We are here.”

But where was here? Upon closer inspection, Mikasa deduced that this must be some kind of garden, judging from the flower beds she could see through the bars, and the trees that loomed all around them. Curiosity sated, a new question arose.

“How do we get in?”

“Oh right….”, hopeful, Eren checked the gate, but he would be lying if he said that he was surprised to find it locked. Damn, he never thought about this. Putting on a brave face, he turned towards his smirking girlfriend, shrugging. “We climb over, what else?”

“Fine.”

Before he could offer his help to the lady, as it’s expected, Mikasa approached the metal, and with a rustle of clothing and few quick moves, she was on the other side, blinking at Eren through the barrier. 

“You coming?”

Shaking his head, he followed, with a lot more grunting and much slower, but in the end managed to cross, straightening to see that Mikasa was already ahead, inspecting the flowers. 

“It’s pretty here.”, she informed him when he joined her, “How did you find out about this place?”

“Mom works here.”, taking her hand in his again, he gently tugged at it to get Mikasa to follow, leading her to the place he saw earlier. Hopefully it was still there.

It was. A patch of grass surrounded by rose bushes, all the colors she could dream of. Red, white, yellow, even some black ones, peeking from the green. 

“Oh my god, it’s beautiful.”, coming closer, Mikasa leaned in to see better, an expression of childlike wonder on her face. And Eren couldn’t help but feel relieved. Jackpot. To be honest, he did feel a bit anxious, because Mikasa didn’t seem much like a flower type of a girl, but he took a slight gamble and won. Watching her, fascinated by the beauty of the roses, Eren was very glad that he risked it. Just seeing the way she looked, surrounded by the flowers, made it completely worth it.

When Mikasa wanted to take a breather, and they sat together on the grass, Eren was quick to offer his lap for her to rest her head in, and offer she accepted readily. With the weather being nice for once, the ground was reasonably dry and pleasantly warm, allowing her to lie down without the fear of catching a cold. 

“You know, I was half thinking that you drew me out just to have sex somewhere public again.”, she spoke into the night, shuffling on the ground to be a bit more comfortable. 

Originally, that was the other part of his plan, but with her so peacefully resting, it would be rude to try and rouse her just to get some. Well, this felt nice too, not going to lie. Sort of.

“What do you think I am, some kind of a pervert?”

Mikasa just snorted, choosing not to answer. Silence stretched above them like a blanket, with the stars providing just enough light to paint the scene in an intimate glow, as Eren dragged his fingers through her hair, gently. The color of her locks was so similar to the inky midnight sky, he was just about to comment on that, but Mikasa spoke first, not giving him the chance to. 

“Eren,”, she asked, suddenly serious for a change, “do you think that we are going to make it?”

If he could see the future, he would tell her. About all the ups and downs their relationship will have through the rest of the high school and college, how they will almost break up over a stupid misunderstanding but return to each other just two days after the incident, the separation too painful to bear. How stressful it will be the first year after school, them almost never having time to spend it together, their jobs too demanding, so they will leave notes for each other on the fridge, always ending them with a little heart. How beautiful she will look at their wedding, the stunning visage forever burned into his brain, the happiest day of his life. How her first pregnancy will be completely unplanned, and she will spend a week at Sasha’s unsure of what to do, lying long hours in the bed, hands pressed against her stomach with tears streaming down her face until she will have no more left. Eren would tell her all about the fear that he felt, during the later stages of her pregnancy, jumping at shadows when he deemed them even a little bit dangerous to his wife. How their first child, a daughter, will help Armin through his depression, shining light into his world that seemed like nothing but darkness to him. How Mikasa will handle her next children with stoic calmness, already knowing what to expect, but he will still stress himself, endlessly fuzzing over her, making sure that Mikasa has everything she needs. And that, a lifetime later, he will press a kiss to her hair, streaked with gray, and murmur “We made it.”, making her laugh and swat his shoulder playfully, while their grandkids all around them will loudly demand their attention. 

Alas, Eren was no oracle, so all he did was shrug, smoothing the strands of hair behind Mikasa’s ears. 

“I don’t know.”, he replied, “But when you are with me, nothing is impossible.”

And for now, that was more than enough for them.


	18. Rude Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you ever feel like you are over something, but then you remember it and you realize that you are actually not over it at all?  
> Well, that's me and the famous 112 talk.
> 
> So, I made this!

A rough table in front of her, underneath her palms. A uniform hugging her body, as if she was a soldier of some kind, the only familiar piece of clothing was the red scarf around her neck. And finally, across the desk, someone Mikasa knew very intimately sat, her one and only, her fiancé, her Eren. But the way he looked at her, that was something she didn’t understand. Eren never looked at her like that before. There was not a speck of emotion in that gaze, his eyes completely cold and uncaring, half-lidded as if her presence alone was boring him. And it only got worse when he spoke.

“Ever since I was a kid….”, somehow it sounded mechanical, as if he prepared the speech, no sign of life in the dead tone, ”Mikasa, I’ve always hated you.”

Surprise. Disappointment. Sadness. It was hard to even name all the feelings that hit her in a huge wave, rolling over her like a tsunami, drowning her. Before she realized what was happening, her eyes began to water, blurring the vision, as her mouth opened and closed with no sound coming out. Next to Mikasa, someone screamed, and jumped over the table, tackling Eren, the furniture falling, clattering on the ground, and then everything just fell apart all around her with a loud crash. 

That was when she woke up.

Sitting up, breathing heavily, Mikasa could feel her heart hammering in the chest, the sensation only getting worse when something silky brushed her shoulder. A quick panic attack later, she was relieved to realize that its nothing, just her hair, but that discovery also made her frown. Didn’t she have like a really short cut, made so it wouldn’t tangle in her gear? Wait, what gear, what was she thinking about? No gear, no straps, and no uniform was on her body, as she was wearing only an old shrunk tank top and panties, showing way more skin than in the dream. Then again, she was most likely supposed to be sleeping right now. 

The dream was still mixed with reality, and Mikasa was half confused, half happy that she found herself sitting in a bed comfortably known, much nicer and softer than the hard-wooden chair that was under her a few minutes ago. And as she traced her surroundings, eye sliding over the white sheets, another surprise hit her straight in the face. Someone was in the bed with her. And it was no one else but Eren, who seemed to be still in deep slumber, eyes closed while his chest moved in sync with the breathing, obvious to the world. Mikasa’s eyebrows furrowed. Why would the guy who just said that he hated her sleep in the same bed? Why would she agree to that? So many questions, so little time. Well, there was only one person who could answer them. 

Eren stirred and groaned as she poked him, and Mikasa was half-tempted to just let him sleep, but then the dream came back, and she frowned down at him. You’ve always hated me? Well fuck you too, wake up asshole. Finally, after a few more pinches, his lids did slide open, and he sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Miki? What’s up?”, the way he looked at her, it was just so much different than before. Sure, there was a bit of confusion and sleepiness, she did wake him in the middle of the night after all, but the gaze was not cold, or uncaring, not at all. There was familiarity, comfort, appreciation, and something deep she couldn’t really name, overall the image of Eren’s sleepy smile did not add up at all to his words from the dream. 

“Why do you hate me?”, she asked, because Mikasa still somehow wasn’t sure what is real and what isn’t, the reality and non-reality intertwined.

“Hate you?”, that seemed to really wake Eren up, “Miki, what is this about?”

“You said that you always hated me, ever since I was a kid.”, Mikasa pressed on, watching the confusion deepen on his face.

“I didn’t even know you as a kid. We met in college, remember?”

“I… Uhm…. I don’t…”, oh, she remembered. As it was usual with dreams, the feelings and memories started to fade away, replaced by the real thing, and the embarrassment that followed. Pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them, Mikasa just realized that she woke up Eren for no reason whatsoever, only because of her dreaming. Bowing her head, she hid her face from the view, ears burning red. A hand appeared on her back, rubbing it gently, the gesture that Eren always did when he wanted to show her his silent support.

“Was it the nightmares again? You know that you can talk to me right?”

She nodded but didn’t look up.

“I.. No, not nightmares. It was a dream but… It just felt so real.”

He chuckled.

“Dreams usually tend to do that. Can you tell me more about it?”

But the more Mikasa tried to recall the details, the faster they slipped away from her, leaving only a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Shaking her head, Mikasa redirected her gaze back on her toes, not sure how to continue.

“Hey, look at me. Please?”

With a sigh, she did so, facing Eren’s worried expression. It was just so weird, comparing this guy to the person she saw in her dream, because while they looked completely the same, the same features, long hair, the blazing green eyes, tall and broad-shouldered figures, they were also different at the same time. With furrowed eyebrows, Mikasa shook her head, getting her thoughts back under control. It didn’t matter how real the dream felt. It didn’t matter what that guy said to her, in another lifetime, in another reality, in another universe, in another life altogether. It just wasn’t important. This guy, the one in the bed with her, that was her Eren, no one else. 

“You know that I don’t hate you, right?”, the palm from her back repositioned to her cheek, cradling her head, “I love you Mikasa Ackerman, with all my heart.”

So, she kissed him, and afterwards Mikasa managed to convince Eren that no, she doesn’t need him to get up, and yes, she can fall asleep again, no problem. And that he should just zip it and go to sleep, because they expect him at the hospital in a few hours. Totally exhausted, he fell asleep rather quickly, but Mikasa stayed awake, lying on his chest, listening to the heartbeat, and with his arm firm around her waist, she came to a decision.

This Eren, the one that she had, was, all things considered, pretty damn great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally made this as a part of my main story, but it doesn’t really work for me right now, since I have other ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) plans for that, so I have decided to just post it here, no biggie.  
> (It's still part of my main AU though o_o)


	19. Blaze of Glory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: T  
> Setting: current canonverse (manga chapter 116)
> 
> Prompt: I love Eremika and your stories about them. I know that it's difficult, but one day, can you write their reunion after everything is happened in chapter 112?
> 
> Well, I did my best, although asshole Eren is still....well... not really fun to do? Honestly I feel like I cut that part too short, but eh, what can you do. So, enjoy some canon angst!
> 
> P.S. : still looking for more prompts btw, as it seems that getting them actually makes me write and not just procrastinate. So if you want something done by me, you know what to do ;)

There was an explosion coming from somewhere upstairs, making everyone in the spacious cell look up in surprise and collectively furrow their eyebrows. It was a big one, with rubble falling and shattering concrete, as if the whole ceiling has just caved in. Or rather, something big caved it in. Out of everyone in the room, Yelena, standing in front of the prison bars, seemed to be the least surprised one, her eyes turning upwards with a clear devotion written in them.

“It has begun…”, she whispered, a fanatical smile spreading her lips, “Finally, after all this waiting, it’s finally here.”

“What’s here?”, asked Jean, coming closer to the bars, gripping the metal with white stained knuckles, “Do you know what’s happening?”

“I do. The plan, the great plan of the Yeager brothers, is finally in motion.”, gaze sliding past Jean, Yelena pointed at Armin, who was still teary eyed from his performance earlier, “You. You showed such a great understanding of what needs to be done. Come here.”

Drying the tears with a sleeve, Armin stood up, and came next to Jean, a bit confused by what was happening.

“You are the only one I believe to do what’s right.”, Yelena continued, reaching into her pocket for something, “You understood….”

It was a key, Mikasa realized with a start, the thing that Yelena was now cautiously holding in her hand, half raised towards Armin. But before she could hand it to him, a shade of uncertainness appeared in her features.

“Armin… You know what must be done, right?”

When the blond answered her, his voice matched hers in its feverish tone.

“There’s no future for such a doomed race as ours. This plan, this god-sent plan, is our only way to disappear from this world gracefully, causing as little pain as possible. We must help it become reality in any way we can.”, looking the woman straight into the eye, Armin held her gaze without flinching, “We, Eldians, are a relic of the past, we have no reason to exist anymore. There’s no wisdom in clinging to our worthless lives.”

“Yes, of course. My apologies for doubting your devotion.”, handing over the key, Yelena shared a last nod with Armin, smiling, “Guide your doomed squad. Show the whole world what you can do, one last time.”

Pushing herself from the bars, Yelena almost walked out of the door, but just before she left, the woman turned, raising her hands and voice.

“Go out in the blaze of glory!”, she cried, “Create a legacy not because of your children, for there will be none, but for the whole world to remember and fear you by!”

With that, she left, followed by the remaining guards, leaving only the prisoners standing in their cell, with Armin staring at the key in his hand.

“Well, she’s totally nuts.”, Jean broke the silence, trying to ease the tension. Nudging Armin with a shoulder, he thrusted his chin in the direction of the key. “You going to let us out or what?”

He did. The door to the cell creaked as they opened it, everyone just kind of standing around the room after, not sure what to do next. Sure, they were free, but what now? The country was in chaos. Judging from the sounds pouring in from outside, the screams and continuous explosions, the invasion of Eldia has begun, and they were only one squad, outlaws at that. And while they had experience with fighting titans, this was something new for most of them, to go out and shoot at fellow humans, just because they were from a different part of the world. It twisted their stomachs, even with the knowledge that it was either their own lives, or the lives of the enemy. There would be no negotiations, no surrendering, nothing. Eren’s actions made sure of that.

“So, what do we do now?”, Jean voiced everyone’s unspoken question, looking around the room as if someone would step up and tell them what to do. Silence was his answer. That was, until Armin spoke up.

“What now? Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? We do what Yelena told us to do.”

The room exploded.

“What? You’re crazy! You want to go help that bastard Eren, after what he did?”, shouted someone.

And more voices joined in, protesting.

“I’m not helping with the destruction of my race!”

“The bitch’s insane! I’m not following her plan!”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Guys! Guys! Easy!”, Armin raised his voice, enough to be heard, requesting silence. After a few more shouts and grumbling, he was granted one. 

“That’s not what I’m talking about,”, he began, “I have no intention of dying on command, as Eren wants us to do. But Yelena did say that we should give the world something to remember, didn’t she?”, he smiled, “So I say, why the hell not? Let’s do that! We are under attack, aren’t we?”, he pointed at the window, where the sounds of a battle could be heard, “These bastards, they came to annihilate us, wipe us off the map, and I plan to do something about that. Now who’s with me?!”

Cheers exploded in the room, men and women raising their hands and shaking their fists at the unseen enemy, as if only the walls around them were preventing the soldiers from tearing their prey apart. 

“That’s all well and good.”, Jean spoke over the ruckus, getting everyone’s attention, “But you do realize that we aren’t winning this one, right?”

That calmed them rather quickly.

“They have the technology and they have the numbers. After what Eren did, whole Marley will come to bury us with bodies. Doesn’t matter how many we kill, they’ll just keep coming and coming until we run out of steam.”

“I never said that we will stay here and give our lives to the cause.”, Armin countered, “But we have to fight, otherwise we won’t survive.”

The words left bitter taste in his mouth, when he realized how closely he was quoting Eren.

“First, we must go get the queen, Historia is still out there. There must be ships in the harbor, somewhere, a way to get us out of this island. I believe we should try to find those and save as many of our brethren while doing it as we can.”, Armin nodded at Jean, “What do you think, squad leader?”

If Jean was surprised by how easily Armin gave up the leadership to him, he didn’t show it. Levi did groom him to be his replacement after all, didn’t he? Oh man, what he wouldn’t give to have the humanity’s strongest here now, or Hange, anyone who could tell them what to do. But there was no one, only him, so he had no other possibility but to step up and take charge. 

“That’s a solid plan.”, Jean chewed his bottom lip, figuring out the logistics of what to do next. Having a big goal was great and all, but they had to move in small steps. “Let’s get out of here first, get geared up, and see what the hell is actually happening outside.”, he turned towards the waiting soldiers, pointing at the door, “Move!”

Finally hearing an order, as they yearned to, they moved, boots scraping stone as the room emptied, save for last three people. 

“C’mon Mikasa,”, Armin reached out, taking hold of her hand, trying to pull the raven with him, “we have to go.”

But she didn’t budge, gaze downcast on the ground.

“Armin… I’m sorry… But…”, she looked up, and the blond saw that her greys were full of tears, “I can’t go with you.”

“What do you mean? Why can’t you…”, it finally hit him, and Armin’s eyes widened in disbelief, “No, you can’t be serious. You want to go to him?!”

“I have to Armin, he needs….”

“No!”, he interrupted her, furiously shaking his head, “After what he told us? What he told you? That bastard doesn’t deserve you, doesn’t deserve you even thinking about him! He called you a slave for fuck sake!”

No matter the outburst, Mikasa still didn’t move, features twisted by the internal pain and struggle, but her determination remained the same. 

“I have to, I just have to see him. I can’t let it end like this Armin, I just can’t…”

“Mikasa…”, running out of things to say, he just stared at her, not getting it, how could she be this devoted to such an asshole, “Why?”

She sighed.

“You know why.”

And they say love is a good thing. Before he could try again, because he just couldn’t let her go and have Eren spit on her feelings again, damn it, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, making him look up. Jean met his gaze with his own, shaking his head lightly.

“As much as I know why you feel this way, I don’t believe that Eren has suddenly turned into the biggest ass on the island. He must have something, anything, some plan, he wouldn’t just discard us as toys that he grew bored of. And if he needs anyone right now, it’s Mikasa. Let her go man, you know that she doesn’t change her mind. She’s as stubborn as they come.”

Jean was right, and Armin knew it, so letting go of her hand, he took a step backwards. Some battles, you just cannot win. 

“Go to him, Mikasa,” Jean addressed the Ackerman, “Do your best to save that suicidal blockhead, we all know that you excel in it. And.. uhm.. don’t die yourself, okay?”

She nodded, taking a few backward steps towards the other door to the room, the ones that lead to the stairs. Yet when she realized that with how fucked up everything is, this might be the last time she sees Jean and Armin, Mikasa rushed forward instead, grabbing them both in one big group hug. 

“Don’t die yourselves, or I’ll kick your ass, understood?”, when they murmured their agreements, a bit choked because Mikasa was squeezing them really hard, she released them, “Good luck and I’ll see you later, okay?”

Massaging the back of his neck, because damn it but she had some strength in her arms, Jean grinned at her.

“Just go.”

And with a last look, she was out of the doors and gone, rushing, following the unmistakable calling of her heart. It cannot be commanded, after all. Alone in the room, Jean tapped Armin on the shoulder, getting his attention.

“Chin up, titan shifter. Let’s move.”

Together, they followed their squad, both silently praying that they’ll see their friend again. If not in this life, then in the next.

 

Mikasa took the steps by two, staring at the giant hole in the ceiling. Something surely erupted from here, tearing through the concrete and up on the roof. There were bodies everywhere, dead soldiers with broken limbs and unseeing eyes, staring into the great beyond. Judging from her experience, a shifter titanized here, Mikasa deduced, instantly killing the men surrounding him and then climbed up on the roof through the massive hole he made. But who was it? Eren wouldn’t kill his own men, and Armin was locked up in a cell when this happened. Was it Zeke? Or have the warriors come over the sea, to finish what they started? She wasn’t even sure if Eren would be up there, but he always tended to find himself in the middle of unpleasant situations, and she was willing to bet that it happened again.

Kicking the door open, she was greeted by a scene of total carnage. There were soldiers again, but that was far from everything. Spikes littered the ground, ones she knew very well back from Marley, created by the Warhammer’s ability. And in the middle, there were two massive bodies, still distinguishable despite the fact that they were both disintegrating quickly, wisps of smoke rising from the flesh. The colossal monsters were locked in a combat, with the smaller one viciously biting into taller figure’s torso, but in the end was apparently unable to reach his goal, most likely because of the massive hammer lodged deep inside its skull. The hit must have been led with terrible strength, because the head was almost completely destroyed, chunks of flesh and bone gone, only the prodigious lower jaw remained intact, teeth deep in his adversary’s flesh. But what caught Mikasa’s eye wasn’t the blood and gore all around her, or the airships, high in the sky, dropping their explosive payloads on the city, but a lone figure, standing on the edge of the roof, looking down at the unfolding hell. Eren must have heard the door open, because he turned, an anger and viciousness on his face replaced by sheer surprise as he saw who the visitor upon his scene of destruction was. 

“Mikasa?”, he called, “What are you….”

But then, a shade flew his features, and his eyes grew cold, distant, resuming the expression he had back at the table. 

“I mean, what are you doing out of your cage, freak?”, ignoring his words, Mikasa began moving forward, towards him. Determined to make her stop, Eren continued. 

“Get back to the cell, slave, before I…”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Closing the remaining distance, Mikasa stopped right in front of Eren, staring at him with eyes showing naked steel. He didn’t seem too badly hurt, only his trousers were almost completely gone, shoes too, and there was faint smoke coming from his legs, indicating that he lost them and had to regenerate. 

“What happened here?”, she asked, taking advantage of the stunned silence that followed her interruption of the stream of insults. 

“You don’t question your betters, sheep, so…”

Mikasa hit him. Punched Eren right into the jaw, silencing him and knocking him down in one simple and effective movement. This time, he had no stupid comments about how weak the smack was, or how inferior she is to him, instead, he sat up on the ground, slowly touching his cheek in disbelief, staring up at her. Well, if she was given her Ackerman strength to protect Eren, it could very well be used to slap some sense into him. 

“I asked, what happened here.”, she tried again, all polite, “Would you please tell me?”

“Pieck led me into a trap, the jaw titan was waiting and tried to eat me before I could transform.”, most likely still a bit in shock, considering how willingly he talked, Eren pointed at the massive hole, “He missed by a few inches, and just bit my legs off, so I shifted, killed and ate him. But Pieck and Gabi escaped in the ruckus. Also…”, looking up, Eren’s eyes focused on the airships, and he frowned, “the invasion began.”

“Well then.”, offering her hand, Eren took it, and Mikasa pulled him to his feet, “What are we going to do about it?”

“We?”, Eren shook his head resolutely, “There’s no we, I think I made that clear. I don’t want you here, Mikasa, don’t you understand?”, he pointed at the door, “Leave, now. Go away with Armin, Jean and the others, make sure that I don’t see your face ever again. We are done, it’s over.”

She didn’t move an inch.

“The others? How do you know that we are all out of our cell?”

“Well I just… you know… assumed since…”

“You weren’t surprised that I was let go. You were surprised that I came here, to you.”, now that Mikasa thought about it, it made sense, “You were the one who told Yelena to let us go, weren’t you?”, she accused him, tapping a finger against his chest, “Why would she do that otherwise. Now I understand, her glorious leader ordered her to! You orchestrated all this, hoping that you hurt us enough with your bullshit that we would just take the chance and disappear, leaving you alone, right?”

Eren seemed suddenly embarrassed, unable to meet her gaze, looking away with a slight blush, but Mikasa had no intention of letting him off the hook.

“Hey! Answer me! I’m right, aren’t I?”

He still refused to look at her.

“You don’t understand..”

“Then tell me.”, she urged him, “Help me understand.”

Eren took a deep breath, then another one, and another, before finally gathering to courage to look at her. 

“Mikasa I’m dying, you know that, and I have no intention of waiting for the curse to take me. This..”, he gestured towards the inferno behind them, “that’s my funeral pyre. My plan is to take as many of those bastards with me, to kill Reiner, Pieck, and my brother, to reclaim the titans back for us, Eldians. And by creating such a carnage, to give you chance to get away from all this, this cursed island, our prison.”

“That’s… a pretty shitty plan if I ever heard one.”

“Yea well, I’m not exactly as smart as Armin. Better than nothing, right? At least it will give you a chance to escape unscathed.”

“Escape…”, she repeated after him, half in disbelief, “And go where?”

“Anywhere!”, reaching down, Eren took hold of her hands, squeezing them reassuringly, “You have your whole life in front of you, Jean too, Armin…”, his expression grew sad, “is not so lucky. That’s why I said all those words, hurt you so much, pushed you away as hard as I could. Because my life Is done, but yours don’t have to be. Go to Hizuru, as Kiyomi wants you to, or don’t, and leave all this shit behind, god knows that you deserve it, hundred times over.”

“Eren,”, trying to decipher his expression, Mikasa leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed,” what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you, Mikasa Ackerman, are a smart, kind, strong, and uhm..”, he swallowed, “b-beautiful woman, who will one day make someone so very happy to have you.”, a sad smile appeared on his face, “The person just won’t be me. And that hurts to know, a lot.”

Mikasa felt like she was hit by a thunder. Did Eren just call her beautiful?

“You have so much more to give to the world,”, he continued, “and that’s why you must leave, escape this accursed place. Please, will you do it? For me?”

And she thought about it, real hard, about all the possibilities that Eren presented for her. The chances of getting off the island, while he was causing such trouble here, in the city, were quite good, as the soldiers must have come on ships, as Armin said, and stealing one with the amount of men they had shouldn’t be much of a problem. Yes, she could leave. Yes, she could escape. Yes, she could live. But did she want it? Was it a true desire of her heart? And to that question, Mikasa knew the definitive answer.

“No.”

Taken aback by such unexpected reply, Eren blinked, opened and closed his mouth, not getting any words out. Luckily, she had a lot of those to say.

“I can’t do it, just run from everything, it’s against my nature.”, Mikasa clenched her fist, watching the scars stand out against the pale skin, “I’m a soldier, Eren, a warrior, and even if its not the life I would choose for us, if I got the chance, life decided otherwise. It’s too late to change it now.”

“It’s not too late…”, he protested, but Mikasa pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

“This world, is so, so cruel, but it’s the only one we have. And if now is our time to leave it, then as long as we do it together, I don’t mind.”

He was crying, she realized, silent tears rolling down his cheeks, anguish written in his beautiful green eyes. 

“Mikasa please…”, he begged her, begged her to reconsider, to take the way out, but she has decided. As Jean put it, Mikasa was as stubborn as they come.

“Living long years, somewhere gone, in hiding, with you and Armin gone and just memories of you guys.” she shook her head, “That’s not a reward, that’s a torture. I don’t want it. And Kiyomi?,” eyes gliding over the tattoo on her wrist, the mark of her clan, Mikasa sighed, “She just wants me because of my lineage, because of the ties to the shogun that I have. Going to Hizuru, I would be an honored prisoner, a breeding machine, used to produce an heir to the throne, that would be my value.”, even imagining it made Mikasa sick, “The thought of sitting there, in that gilded cage she would lock me in, with a child of a man I don’t love… That to me is a fate much worse than death.”

Seeing her, so beautiful with the flushed cheeks, it reminded Eren of that time on the field, when the smiling titan was coming for them, back when she first told him that she loved him, as they thought that the end was near. He really wanted to kiss her, back then, but that would mean their demise, and Eren wasn’t ready to die, so he moved instead, saving them both. And now, there she stood, again, but just as last time, Eren just couldn’t force his body to move, trying really hard to think about something, some argument to make her leave, not die because of him and his stupid curse. Yet Mikasa was done with waiting, so leaning forward, she was the one who pressed her lips against his, kissing him right there, on the roof, next to the smoking titan bodies and with bombs exploding all around them, because war was their life, and it was oddly fitting that their first kiss was most likely their last one too. When she pulled back, finally fulfilling what she wanted to do for so damn long, Eren stared at her, wondering how morbid it would be to tell her how pretty it is that the fires of the burning city really make the sharp features of her face stand out. But as he opened his mouth to try and get the compliment out, because it was rather fitting considering that she just kissed him, Mikasa interrupted it.

“If you say that I should leave again, I’m going to find my scarf and strangle you with it.”

“Funny you should mention that…”, with a half-grin, Eren reached into his pocket, pulling out the faded red fabric they both knew so intimately, “I had the guards bring it to me, since I kinda figured you wouldn’t want it back after what I told you at the table. I wanted to have it with me as I reminder of you when I… you know… die.”, shaking it free, Eren carefully wrapped the scarf around Mikasa’s neck, just as all he did all those years ago, smiling at how happy it made her, “But it does look better on you.”

A bomb falling near caught Eren’s attention, and he looked away, frowning slightly at the battle around them. Lost in her, he almost forgot about the raging inferno. Looking back at her, how full of life she was, he decided to give her one last chance to leave, to move on with her life, which was so much more than his ever had a chance to be.

“Are you sure about this? I’ve done this because I don’t want to fade out, but there’s no escaping the inevitable. I will burn, Mikasa, as brightly as possible.”

They stood next to each other, on the edge of death and destruction, looking down. Mikasa reached up, touching the fabric around her neck, while her other hand was tightly linked with Eren’s, the man she loved, but could never have, because this world was simply too cruel. No, their story, it won’t have a happy ending, because it was simply not possible, but Mikasa was strangely content with that. Maybe in next life, in another universe, they will have a better shot at this whole love thing. But the thought of death didn’t seem so bad, now that all was said and done, now that she knew that her feelings were reciprocated, now that they were together again. And while the world around them was going to hell, the pair never felt so calm inside. Squeezing his hand, looking up to meet his fiery emeralds with her own steely greys, Mikasa smiled at Eren.

“Then let’s burn together.”


	20. More than just red fabric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: T  
> Setting: current canonverse/manga chapter 118
> 
> Prompt: Could you please write Eremika to the 118th chapter. Something like the battle is already over, and Mikasa meets Eren, recovering from his wounds.
> 
> Yo peeps, this is totally what's going to happen, i have through mysterious means acquired the future script of SnK, trust me.  
> ;)

It was over in the blink of an eye.

Marley military, arguably the mightiest in the world, quickly lost its bravado when faced with dozens of colossal titans emerging from the walls all around them. The battle, which up until now was rather one-sided, ended with a quick surrender of the invader, granting the defending forces of Paradis an unconditional victory.

But such triumph couldn’t have been achieved without sacrifices.

Zeke’s face was still etched into Eren’s memory, the relief on it quickly turning into horror as he was being picked up from the ruined body of his titan and swiftly brought to the waiting jaws. Once he ate his brother, and his royal blood coursed through Eren’s veins, the full potential of the coordinate was unlocked to him, giving him a complete control over the army in the walls. To be fair, Eren liked his brother, to a degree, but his zealous intent to end any life on the island was not a goal he could ever back. Euthanasia? Not on his watch. Eren had to play by Zeke’s rules, up until now, as he held most of the cards, but no more. Now the aces were in Eren’s hands.  

And so, the rumbling began. Not on the full-scale, just a few of the giant titan army, but it was more than enough. No one could have faced this. With all their titans out of commission and the airships shot down, Marleyans had nothing to hit back with. Some pockets of resistance tried to keep their fighting spirits up, but from his vantage point high on the wall, where Eren climbed for a better view, he could easily direct the attention of his awoken colossal soldiers to quench any danger to his comrades. Now with the fighting done the unsung savior of Eldians sat down for a moment, to catch his breath and organize his thoughts. Because while today was won, the long-term effect was still fickle, and debatable, and he had to make sure that….

“Eren?”

A voice he knew, more intimately than his own, voice of a person he both longed for and dreaded to meet. Steeling himself and turning his head slightly, he decided to face the inevitable, which was coming to him in long strides.

Mikasa looked battle-worn, her uniform burned and cut, multiple new scratches and bruises on her skin, but didn’t appear to be seriously harmed. There was something about her, something Eren couldn’t quite place, that just didn’t sit right, not until she came to stand next to him and he finally managed to connect the dots together. Her scarf was gone. The usual redness underneath her chin being replaced with the pale glow of her skin, and a pink scratch on the left side, most likely from a bullet. The realization made Eren gasp. Not the fact that her scarf was missing, but that she was this close to dying, being shot down by a random soldier who’d never know that he killed the most impressive woman who ever lived.

“I left it behind.”, she said, seeing the stare at her bare throat, misinterpreting it. Defiant, she held her chin up, challenging his look with her own, unflinching. Apparently she was ready for him to be disappointed or something, even after everything he’s done to her. This girl was really one in a million.

“I’m glad.”, looking away, back at the city, Eren caught the change in her expression only at the edge of his vision, the simple words taking her aback.

“You’re…glad?”

“Of course. It’s good to see that you won’t let anyone insult you, not even me. Good to see that you’re finally free.”

Bark of laughter was the last thing he expected, but there it was, making him look back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Something funny?”

 “Are you really that dense?”, she asked, shaking her head with a bitter smile.

Unsure of what she meant, Eren waited for her to go on. Not like he had anything better to do right now anyway and having a moment alone with Mikasa was precious to him, especially now when everything else went to shit.

“That scarf, what do you think it meant for me? A bond? A chain binding me to you?”

Shrugging, he remained silent, because while he would most likely choose different words, the meaning was basically the same. The scarf was nothing but a collar to a leash that was firmly attached to him, not by anyone’s choice, but by her birth, and the tragedy that occurred. Mikasa was not to blame for it, no one but whoever forged that genetic chain was, and those people were long dead.

“You’re wrong.”, she cut into his thoughts, voice clear of any doubt in her heart, “It wasn’t you, the reason why I wore it, it was so much more.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at it from my perspective. I was nine years old and my parents were just brutally murdered in front of me. I was cold, hurting, alone, about to be sold off as cattle and then you came in. Saved me, wrapped that scarf around me…” Mikasa half raised her hand towards her neck before she remembered that it was bare, letting it fall back to her side, “It was warm, and safe, and showed me that there’s not only blood and violence in this world, but beautiful things too. That’s why I clung to it so much.”, she shook her head, sadness seeping into her words, “I would have given it up, if I had other reminders, but what was our life Eren? Was it nice? Safe? Warm? No. Your father disappeared, your mother died, our home was destroyed, and we spent every waking hour training and fighting to kill giant man-eating monsters. That’s hardly the life a young girl wishes for herself.”

“You didn’t have to join the military with me.”, Eren pointed out, “You decided to do that yourself.”

“And what was I supposed to do?”, she countered, “Let you die alone? You were my last link to the safety and warmth, you and the scarf, and with how you treated me when we were trainees…”

Eren could feel his ears warming up slightly when Mikasa reminded him of that time. She was right, he was nothing but an asshole towards her, jealous of her strength, hating how overprotective she was. It took him a long time before he realized it, and he regretted it ever since. And Mikasa was still far from done.

“We had to almost die together before our relationship improved, and once we reached the ocean I thought that maybe we could finally be done with this fighting, finally have a home to return to, not an endless line of camps.”, she sighed, “But I was naïve, wasn’t I. In the basement, we found out that titans were never the true enemy, that there are people, humans like us beyond the ocean, wanting nothing more than to exterminate us all. Another war to fight, perhaps even more brutal and savage than the one we just won. More restless nights. More training. More blood and violence.”, her voice turned bitter,” You disappeared, leaving me with nothing but memories and the stupid scarf to remember the warmth by. And when you returned, did you bring back the safety I craved? No. More war, insults, and hate I did not deserve in the slightest, both for me and Armin.”

“Mikasa I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

She didn’t let him finish.

“Yes, you did. Maybe not word-by-word, but overall you meant those words you said to me, don’t deny it.”, she pointed towards the city, “The battle is over, so I was wondering, would you perhaps tell me why? What did I do to make you hate me?”

A fair question, one that deserved a well-thought out answer from him, in the least. He had to make her see, understand, because their time was already growing short, and Eren had no idea what will happen once they are discovered.

“It’s… not that I hate you, I said that wrong and I apologize. I was angry at that time. Disappointed.”

“Disappointed?”, she tilted her head to the side, a gesture Eren found downright adorable and had to bite his tongue not to say it out loud, “Why?”

“You asked me to see from your perspective, so now please, do the same for me.”, he took a deep breath, doing his best to organize the words, but he was no poet. There was no way around this, and Mikasa deserved the truth.

“After we reached the ocean,”, he began, “I came to realize many things. My life is going to be short; I don’t have much time left. We, as a nation, are doomed, unless we do something. And, perhaps most importantly,”, this was hard to say without blushing, “the attention of the girl who used to annoy me to no end was actually rather pleasing after all.”

Mikasa blinked in surprise, her mouth dropping to a small “o”, but Eren pressed on, determined to get it off his chest.

“I don’t know what it was, the fondness I had for you, I think I had it in me for a long time, never realizing it. But here we were, maturing, both in body and in mind, and day after day I looked at you and wondered how I could ever take you for granted. The way you acted towards me, so attentive, and supportive, gentle, it was all I needed. When I was younger, it was just titans this, and titans that, experiments, shifting, but now I found myself wondering if you smile was always so radiant. If the way you tuck the strand of hair behind your ear was always so adorable, and if you were always so a-…uhm… attractive.”, unable to continue, fumbling on words, he  looked away, “This is so embarrassing to say.”

“I was not the only one who changed, your body matured a lot too. A few years back we were the same height, and now I have to look up to see eye-to-eye.”, Mikasa offered, hoping to ease him out of his sudden muteness.

It took him a few seconds to realize what she was saying, but then it hit him. Did Mikasa just compliment how he looked?

“You still haven’t told me the whole story.”, she pointed out, before he could really start mulling over it.

“Right.”, he agreed, “So here I was, thinking about all these things I never cared for before, mostly regarding you, and I came to a conclusion. No matter how I felt, the lives of our nation come first. I left, as you said, crossed the ocean, met my brother, and we talked. He told me a lot, about the titans, the world, and also about you, the Ackerman clan. The bond you create, the unnatural strength, the way your bodies are genetically enhanced to serve as elite bodyguards. And it got me thinking. What if all this fondness you have for me, what if its not from you, but from the bond instead? What If you don’t like me because of your free will, but because you have to?”, Eren looked back at her, “What if all those feelings I realized I had for you, what if they were all a lie?”

Eyes swinging back to the city, Eren went on.

“Then I saw you, back at Marley, saving my ass again, and realized that I can’t control it. Even with all this knowledge about the bond, I still loved you. I hated myself, I hated you, I hated the stupid bond and whoever created it. And I said all those words, later, and you’re right that I meant them, to a degree. It was wrong to say them, but my feelings were still hurt, and Yelena was breathing down my neck, and it all came out much harsher than I ever wanted to. I don’t hate you, as a person, because you’re wonderful, but I hate the possibility that I forced you to love me, that I bound you to myself with that scarf, made you nothing more but a servant when you have the capability to be so much more.”

Silence fell after his words, because he said everything that he wanted to say, and now it was up to Mikasa to digest those words.  And she did so with a laugh.

“Dummy.”

Eren looked up, unsure of what she meant, to see her staring down at him, face unreadable.

“Stand up.”, she ordered him, tone leaving no place for discussion.

Scrambling to his feet, Eren watched her unmoving expression, wondering if she wanted to punch him in the face or something, motion that was completely justified in his eyes and he would do nothing to stop it. There it was, Mikasa took a deep breath, and soon would pull her arm back to…

“Kiss me.”

“W-What?”

“You heard me.”, tone still completely militaristic, as if she was directing recruits on the field, her eyes holding steel in them, Mikasa’s lips didn’t do as much as twitch.

“I said kiss me.”, she repeated.

Slowly, sure that this is some kind of joke, or a revenge, Eren leaned closer, a bit scared of what would follow, and closer still, until he could gently and carefully press his lips against her forehead. Still, she didn’t hit him for some reason.

“Eren…”, she whispered instead, “You’re so incredibly dense sometimes.”

What? Did she want him to kiss her on the cheek or something? Surely not, he did not deserve such familiarity, not matter how much he craved to….

Her hands, appearing out of nowhere, took his face into a strong grip, and before he realized what was happening he was being pulled down, with a strength he could not deny, until his lips met hers, and they were actually kissing. The feeling made him freeze completely, because it felt much better than he ever even dared to hope, soft and warm, and while Eren couldn’t do much but stare Mikasa was way bolder, swiping her tongue alongside the seam of his mouth before pulling back, a wicked smile on her face.

“Dummy.”, she repeated, “I don’t have a single doubt about what I feel for you, not anymore. After you told me all those things, I was hurt, but in the end and after a lot of thinking I realized that you were right in a certain way. You made me look beyond the horizons I made for myself and see the bigger picture. I realized something. I don’t need the scarf. I don’t need you.”, she leaned closer, “But I want you, and there’s nothing unnatural about that.”

There was a lot of things he could say to that. But all of them felt unnecessary, as right now, there was a burning need inside him, one that he hasn’t felt in his life before. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he kissed her again, high on the wall, above the city that was still waking up from the aftermath of that terrible battle, the city that had many reasons to hate him, but with Mikasa in his hands and her lips moving alongside his own, he couldn’t bring himself to care. That was until she pulled back, making him growl, already missing the connection.

“You gotta apologize to Armin.”, she breathed out, “And Jean. They both trusted you.”

“They did?”

“Mhmm.”

“All right.”

But when he tried kissing her again, she pulled back out of his reach, giggling.

“Promise me.”

“Fine! I swear I’ll apologize to Armin.”

“And Jean.”, she added.

“And Jean.”, Eren agreed, already dreading the moment.

“And Connie.”, she went on, just about exceeding the limits of his patience.

“I’ll apologize to everyone, hundred times over. That enough?”

She nodded.

Whatever humiliation laid in his future was however completely worth it, as she allowed their mouth to combine again, each kiss feeling better than the last one. It didn’t matter that there was still the shortened lifespan of his to take into consideration. That while they repelled Marley for now, the danger persisted. That Yelena was still at large, somewhere below, most likely plotting her revenge already. That the world was still out to get them, even with their newest colossal guardians standing at attention. But Eren didn’t think about any of this, as for the moment he allowed himself to be selfish and focus solely on the woman he held.

Because any city can be rebuilt, but most importantly, maybe their relationship, which he thought dead and killed by his own hand, could be rebuilt too.

**Author's Note:**

> Im also still looking for prompts, either drop them in the comments or send me an email at yodawgiherd1@gmail.com .  
> OR  
> You can use my brand new tumblr for ask/prompt, anything really ( im still new to it, be gentle)  
> https://yodawgiherd.tumblr.com/
> 
> Till next time!


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